Where does it all go?
by storyman123123
Summary: An old invention causes the Phineas, Ferb, Isabella, and the rest of the gang to cross paths with Doofenshmirtz again, with lasting consequences. Battles will be fought, Inators created, loyalties tested, and feelings discovered as the never-ending feud between Doof and Perry continues, but this time, the stakes are much higher. Please review! Rated T for mild violence.
1. the Flying Carpet, take 2

**All rights go to Disney. I do not own Phineas and Ferb, or any of the characters.**

Phineas sat on his sofa, watching but not really paying any attention to the TV. The late afternoon cast a shadow from the tree in the backyard onto him. He sighed. Earlier that day, they had built the coolest air surfboards for a huge anti-gravity hall with multi-directional air currents in their backyard. All the fun of surfing, without having to go to the beach or getting cold from the seawater. But of course, just before Candace could forcibly drag their mom into the backyard to see what was happening, the whole thing was zapped with a green blast of light and it disappeared, much to the consternation of Candace, and Phineas too. He had particularly liked this Big Idea, and had been hoping to air-surf other days in the future, which was why he was mildly disappointed when it went away.

He heard a knock at the front door. Footsteps sent muffled echoes through the hall as Isabella peeked into the living room. "Hey Phineas. What'cha doin?" she asked cutely, blushing slightly.

"Nothing," he said truthfully. "Why'd you come over again? Not that I don't want you here.. but we already did our Big Idea for the day."

"Oh, I forgot my pen," she said, blushing even more. "It's pink and I like it a lot—"

"Here," said Phineas. "Yeah, you left it in the backyard. I picked it up after everyone went home. I installed something so that you won't lose it again."

"Cool! Did you put on a little homing device, or something?" she said, coming over to take it.

"Actually, I just put a clip on it," he said, smiling, handing her the pen.

"Thanks," she said, smiling back. "That was easy."

"'Wish everything was as easy," said Phineas, a little wistfully.

"What's wrong?" Isabella asked, immediately catching on that something was wrong. She sat down next to him on the sofa.

Phineas clicked off the TV. "Nothing," he said, this time less truthfully. "It's just that… I really liked that airsurfing room we built today. Actually, I liked a lot of the stuff we've built. It's a little disappointing when it all just disappears, you know?"

"I see," said Isabella, the two falling into a deep, but not uncomfortable, silence. After some time, she brightened. "What about that flying carpet you built a week or so ago? It's still here, right?" she asked as she patted the floor.

"Hey, yeah!" he realized. "It is! Thanks, Isabella. I almost forgot about that."

_He said thanks… He really __**does**__ appreciate me, _Isabella thought dreamily. She mentally slapped herself. _C'mon, Isabella. Don't fall into Phineasland right now. Not exactly the best time to do that._ She was so caught up in her mental monologue, she didn't hear what Phineas had said afterwards.

"Isabella? Isa-bellaa," Phineas was saying, waving his hand in front of her face. She started. "Sorry Phineas," she hastily apologized, feeling her face growing hot. "I, um.. I was just—"

"Hey, don't worry. I space out all the time," said Phineas, grinning. She smiled back, her knees getting a little wobbly.

"What I said before was, how'd you like to go on another spin with the flying carpet? I bet there are a lot of places we haven't been to before around Danville, and even beyond Danville," he said, getting the gleam in his eye he always got when he became excited about a new, or in this case, old but still cool, project.

"Now?" asked Isabella, a spark of hope shooting inside her. Was it too good to be true?

"Sure! Lemme go upstairs and get the remote," he replied, grinning. Isabella almost squealed in excitement. It was true! She was going to finally spend some time alone with Phineas! After the Stumbleberry Finkbat movie fiasco a few weeks before, she decided not to try to purposefully have some alone time with Phineas. But this – this was a miracle.

"We can ask Ferb too, see if he wants to come," added Phineas, bouncing off the couch and running up the stairs. "I'll call Baljeet and Buford too!" he yelled. Isabella sat back and sighed in disappointment. _I guess it was too good to be true,_ she thought a little sadly.

Upstairs, Phineas opened the door to their bedroom to find Ferb sprawled on his bed, reading _Great Expectations_ by Charles Dickens. "Hey Ferb! Isabella suggested we take the flying carpet on another spin. Whaddaya say we take her for a ride before dinner?" asked Phineas excitedly.

"Isabella?" inquired Ferb, looking up from his book.

"Yeah, she left her pen here by accident today. But anyway, it'll be fun! What do you say?"

"Sure. Let me change out of these home clothes; I'll meet you downstairs," replied Ferb, going to his closet and exchanging his cream colored shirt and purple trousers for another cream colored shirt and pair of purple trousers. He heard clashes of metal as Phineas dug through the old stuff in his desk drawer, the "Aha!" as Phineas found the flying carpet remote, and the quick footsteps as his step-brother rushed down the stairs. He smiled. Sometimes he wondered how his brother was the same age as him.

Ferb quickly (but still in a dignified manner) made his way down the stairs. He walked to the living room, where Phineas was double checking the status on the anti-gravity quantum-state lift discs. Then he noticed Isabella. She was sort of slumped over the armrest of the couch, her eyes downcast and the corners of her mouth slightly turned into a frown. "Hey Isabella, ready to go?" he asked.

"Hey Ferb. Yeah, I'm ready," she said, not looking up at him. He felt a twinge of jealousy as he automatically pinpointed the reason for Isabella's disappointed mood. He didn't want to, but he knew it was better for her – and probably for Phineas too – if he let them go alone.

"Phineas, I'd actually rather stay home and read _Great Expectations,_" said Ferb. Half of his brain was screaming at him not to, to go with the pair and have a good time and maybe even make Isabella realize that he wasn't so bad too, but he pushed the thoughts down and turned around to start back up to his room.

"Ferb, are you sure? It'll be fun. I called Baljeet and Buford, and they both said they're busy too, so it'll just be me and Isabella. Not that I don't mind, Isabella," Phineas quickly amended, catching Isabella's reaction. "It'd be great to spend time with you." Isabella quickly recovered at this statement, smiling at Phineas. With great internal difficulty, Ferb managed, "Yes, I'll stay home."

"But—" Phineas started, but Ferb cut him off with a stare that clearly said _don't argue. Please_. He didn't want Phineas to protest. It only made it harder. "Sure, if you really want," Phineas said nonchalantly, clicking the button that opened up the second floor of the house. Isabella shot a quick _thank-you_ glance at Ferb, who gave a small smile and half-heartedly saluted Isabella. She giggled. "Mom, Isabella and I are going out for some time," yelled Phineas.

"Just be back before dinner," yelled their mom from the kitchen.

"MOM! Look. UP!" Ferb heard Candace shriek.

"Okay," said Phineas, the carpet rising up and flying away and the second floor of the house slamming back down.

"I feel like this is getting old, Candace, but… what am I supposed to be seeing?" Ferb heard his stepmom say.

"Second floor…house…lifted up…" stuttered Candace.

"Honey. Remember the Bust Accord."


	2. Time to meet your doof

**Again, I do not own Phineas and Ferb.**

As they flew across downtown Danville at a leisurely pace, Phineas didn't really know what to say to Isabella. He wouldn't have called this situation exactly "awkward" – he and Isabella had spent plenty of time alone together before – but he didn't really know what to say. Every time he wanted to say something, he looked over at Isabella, the afternoon sunlight catching in her hair and smiling face, and his throat closed up and his brain shut down. He couldn't explain it. _Why am I feeling this way?_ he thought to himself. _Why can't I just make conversation with her? We're just spending some time together. It's completely normal. Except for the fact that we're flying, and the sun is especially beautiful today, and she looks so cute…_ He shook himself. _Where did that come from?_

Isabella turned to him, making him jump slightly. "I just wanted to say, thank you, Phineas," she said, still smiling. "This is really great. It's just such a beautiful day, and we're flying on a carpet a couple hundred feet in the air, and it's just so rom…magical," she amended hurriedly, he cheeks reddening. Of course, Phineas didn't notice. She briefly wondered if he would notice how much she liked him even if she were to slap him and say straight out, "I love you."

Easier than he thought, Phineas replied, "I'm glad you're having a good time. It's really nice that I get to spend some alone time with you. We should do it more often." He started. Did he really just say that?

He sensed that Isabella noticed the sudden start, and he quickly added, "I didn't just give a start because I'm faking it or lying. I really mean it. It's really nice to spend time with you, without the whole gang, actually," he said lamely. _Great,_ he thought bitterly. _Now she'll think I'm weird and sappy. _

To his surprised, she brightened considerably. "Really?" she asked.

"Yeah," he said, smiling. "I only gave a start because I was surprised I had to guts to say that." _AHH! I said too much! _he scream-thought to himself.

"The guts to say that…" Isabella mused, half-smiling. Phineas had no idea what she was thinking and was silently freaking out. But instead of pressing further on what he meant by "having the guts to say that," Isabella only smiled more. "Well, I'm enjoying this time with you too," she said, shifting closer to him on the sofa.

Inside, Isabella was squealing with joy. _He enjoys spending time alone with me! Maybe if he really enjoys it, he'll do it more often, purposefully, and then maybe, he'll finally… no, don't get ahead of yourself, Isabella,_ she mentally scolded herself. _ It's still a bad time to fall into Phineasland._ And of course, unlike Phineas, who was possibly the most oblivious person on the planet, she knew what he meant by his statement. She knew now that he was a little nervous to be around her too, which meant that maybe – just _maybe _– he liked her back, as more than a friend!

A sudden draft of wind caused the carpet to turn over slightly, sending the two tumbling towards one side of the couch. "AHH!" they both yelped. Phineas desperately fished in his pockets for the remote to the rug. The carpet dipped down suddenly and the bottom of it smacked against the top of a tall building, unseating the two for a second. Phineas's fingers finally caught the remote, and he quickly pressed the "auto-stabilize" button. The carpet instantly flattened and drifted smoothly through the air, as if nothing had happened.

"I'm so sorry, that was completely my fault," gasped Phineas. And to him, he thought it really was his fault. He was so caught up in just spending time with Isabella, he forgot that he had to control the carpet too, to prevent them from being tossed by the wind or crashing into a building. He thought about the last time they took the flying carpet out; why hadn't they been thrown by the wind then? He suddenly remembered: Ferb had been in charge of controlling the carpet, and had no doubt paid very close attention to making sure their flight was turbulence-free and enjoyable. More guilt arose from his stomach.

"It's not your fault. That was fun!" managed Isabella, also gasping. They looked at each and cracked up. They were so busy laughing, they didn't even notice that they were holding hands, until they both suddenly looked down at their intertwined hands, and blushed. Isabella quickly retracted her hand, thoroughly embarrassed, but Phineas stopped her, and grasped her hand more firmly. He smiled, and she smiled back. They were interrupted by a sudden beeping sound.

"Uh oh, the battery's low," said Phineas, releasing Isabella's hand, much to her disappointment. "I guess we forgot to charge it."

"So we're gonna crash?!" asked Isabella indignantly.

"Nah. We got a back-up battery. We'll be fine, it takes a sec for it to kick in," replied Phineas with confidence.

The beeping continued.

"Phineas, why's it still beeping?" asked Isabella, starting to panic a little.

"I don't know," Phineas answered unhelpfully. "I know that we installed a back-up battery on the bottom of the carpet… Oh wait, maybe it got torn off when we hit that building," said Phineas.

"So now what?!" Isabella asked, her voice getting higher with fear.

"I'll just land us somewhere. It'll be fine," Phineas consoled her. He gave her a one-armed hug, and she immediately relaxed. They both smiled.

That was when the carpet suddenly lurched downward.

"Okay Phineas, I think now might be a good time to land this thing," said Isabella.

"I can't land it on the ground, there's not enough battery left," said Phineas, quickly checking the statistics of the flight on the screen of the remote. "We're gonna have to land on some balcony, or something…"

"There! At that weird looking building… Wow, it looks like Ferb's head!" observed Isabella.

"Cool! Maybe it's a sign. C'mon, you stupid carpet. Work with me!" growled Phineas playfully. Isabella giggled.

They landed the carpet on the open balcony of the strange building that looked like Ferb's head, and just in time too, because the battery died as they were landing, so the carpet thudded onto the floor of the balcony, tossing Phineas and Isabella off and sending them rolling across the floor. They got up, laughing, partly because they were still enjoying each other's' company and partly in relief, for, you know, surviving. That was when a big cage was launched at them, trapping them inside.

"Perry the Platypus, why'd you come over again? We already did our Evil Scheme for the day," said a scratchy, high-pitched voice with a slight accent. A man in a lab coat walked around the corner, yawning, but stopped suddenly when he saw the kids.

They stared at each other for a moment. Then the man said, "…You're not Perry the Platypus."


	3. Trapped, for real

**Feel like I'm getting repetitive... but nope, I don't own Phineas and Ferb.**

"O-kay…" Isabella said slowly.

"Oh, I'm so sorry," stumbled the man in the lab coat, frantically pawing at his pockets. "I was expecting someone else."

"I'm not sure I'd like to know who, considering that that someone else was supposed to get caged up like an animal," whispered Phineas to Isabella, who, in spite of the situation, giggled.

"Here, let me free you… just one second, I know I have that release button somewhere…" mumbled the man, bending down and looking under a table.

"Did you say Perry the Platypus before?" asked Phineas on a whim.

"Yes, he's my nemesis," called the man from the bathroom, scrambling through his medicine cabinet. "It's gotta be here somewhere… Oh, doomkoff!"

"That's funny; we have a platypus named Perry too! What are the odds," Phineas called, trying to make small talk. Isabella smiled. Phineas always liked to see the best in every situation. Here he was, trapped in a cage, and he was talking about his pet platypus to the very man who trapped him.

"Hm, a strange coincidence, I guess," said the man, looking down his toilet.

Something occurred to him. He slowly walked back outside and studied the kids for a second. "Hey, I know you! I saw you when I was manning my mechanical bug probe at Perry the Platypus's house! Do you have your own TV channel?"

"What?" said Phineas in confusion. "Not that we know of."

"But he does own a platypus named Perry," added Isabella.

"Yes, yes, but…" the man trailed off. An evil gleam came into his eye. "Of course! You are Perry the Platypus's owners!"

"Whoa, whoa, hold it," interjected Phineas, putting his hands up. "I have absolutely _no _idea what's going on, but I'm pretty sure we're talking about different Perry's. Our platypus doesn't do much."

"Yeah, he mostly just sleeps and drools," said Isabella.

"We'll see about that," the man grinned evilly. He walked away.

"Hey, what about freeing us?" called Phineas.

"Not happening, kiddos! I'm going to wait. This will be the perfect lure for Perry the Platypus. Now, I have the upper hand! And when I say upper, I mean upper! Not per; this isn't one of those times where I chop off the prefix of a word and actually mean that word. I actually mean upper! HEHHEHHEHHEH!" cackled the man.

"Soon, I, Heinz Doofenshmirtz, will rid my nemesis of the picture, and finally take over the _Tri-State Area!_"

"Whoa, that's really cool, how you got that dramatic music when you said 'Tri-State Area,'" Isabella commented.

"I know right?" said Doofenshmirtz, grinning. "But how to do it… What to create, to finally triumph over Perry the Platypus…" He frowned for a moment, deep in thought. "AHA!" he finally yelled, grinning like a maniac.

He turned into a closet and soon, mechanical clangs emitted from the closet as he dug through his "parts" closet, muttering, "Yes…yes…this is perfect! I will devise the perfect –Inator to rid Perry from my evil scheme, once and for all!"

"Wow, this guy is really off his rocker—Phineas? Are you okay? Phineas?" asked Isabella, turning to the boy next to her. He was looking off into the distance, a confused look on his face.

"That's… that's weird. Perry can't be a secret agent… Right?" he murmured.

"What?!" asked Isabella in surprise.

"My mind's eye just played the weirdest scene in my head… Perry had a hat, and he was fighting some dude… No. I must be just going crazy." _From spending time with you, _he mentally added. _ And seeing how much fun it is._

"In any case, we should probably let someone know about what's going on… I mean, I'd like to get out of here, sooner than later," said Isabella nonchalantly, looking up at the strong metal cage. Despite his confused mesh of thoughts, Phineas laughed. "Sure thing, I'll just call Ferb. He'll know what to do."

**What will Ferb think of Phineas calling him? How will they escape? Why am I asking these questions?**


	4. The man of action revealed

**Man, this was a taxing chapter to write. Ferb is a pretty layered guy.**

Ferb slammed the door of his bedroom. He went to the window and watched the rug float away, Phineas and Isabella sitting next to each other on the couch, talking, laughing. Throwing himself onto his bed and closing his eyes, he fought to keep resentful feelings down. _This is so unlike you, Ferb,_ he scolded himself. _Since when were you EVER jealous of Phineas?_ But he knew the answer to that.

Ever since their adventure with the Beak supersuit, he harbored a nagging feeling of jealousy and resentment in his gut. Granted, it was a highly unwanted feeling, but the feeling persisted, nonetheless. _By the way Phineas, you were _very_ brave,_ the words rang in his head. He'd manually controlled a two-person suit of armor by himself and saved a crowd of people from injury and death. True, Phineas did save Isabella's life, but he deserved some recognition too, right? _There's no glory in thighs,_ he sighed to himself again.

And it didn't stop there. The carpet – Phineas had thought of the idea, but it was Ferb who suggested – no, invented – the anti-gravity quantum-state lift discs, to help with omnidirectional flight. He was the one who had carefully studied the wind patterns in the Tri-state area before, to map out how he should control the carpet to create a smooth flight for everyone. _And_ he offered to share the "king-of-the-world" spot on top of the TV.

But that wasn't all. He was jealous of Phineas because of Isabella too. Phineas obviously couldn't recognize that Isabella liked him and how cute she was, but Ferb could. And he did. But Isabella would never notice him. She continued to be infatuated with Phineas and his Big Ideas, while Ferb and his Mad Building Skills were left out of the picture.

And to be honest, Ferb liked Isabella, a little more than he cared to admit. He liked the way she was always ready to help, how she was capable of doing anything the brothers were up to, how optimistic and sweet, and cute, she was. All the rumors he heard about him and Vanessa made him want to snort. Sure, he thought Vanessa was gorgeous. But he knew he would choose Isabella over Vanessa, any day. He felt saddened that he knew that Isabella would never see him in the same way as she saw Phineas, which triggered more uncomfortable resentful feelings in his stomach.

He noted that he didn't like to talk much in front of people, which caused people to naturally forget about him a little. But still – couldn't anyone notice how much (more) he did than Phineas? How he made the Big Ideas come to life?

He heard his phone on the bedside table go off, spurting out frazzled segments of "Gitchee Gitchee Goo." Without looking at the phone, he knew it was Phineas. He had set the song for the ringtone so that it would only play when Phineas called. He silently seethed. He had the nerve to call during his time alone with Isabella, and thought Ferb would pick up? _Forget it,_ Ferb thought to himself, listening to the song that eventually died away.

He opened _Great Expectations_ and tried to read, but the words swam in a big blob in front of his eyes. He closed the book and flung it at the wall.

Ferb heard a chatter and saw the blue platypus climb onto his bed. "Oh, there you are, Perry," he said, stroking his back.

Perry chattered again. It sounded like a question.

"I'm fine, I'm fine! I'm… I'm not fine," he confessed. "It's Phineas and Isabella. I know that I should give them space to be alone. I owe both of them that much, him being my brother and Isabella my friend... But it's hard, being left out of the picture, out of the glory and fame, sometimes," he said, scratching Perry's neck.

Ferb talked a lot when he was by himself. He didn't like talking much in front of others, though.

"I just wish that I'd get a little more credit, like Phineas does. He always gets recognized by _everyone._ Literally everyone in Danville knows him. And literally everyone in Danville knows me as 'Phineas's brother.' I mean, without me, I don't think he could build half the stuff he does, right?

"And even within our friends… Buford and Baljeet seem to only notice him, how great he is. And Isabella is always so caught up with him. I wish they – she – would notice me more. I know I sound like brat, but sometimes it's hard, you know?" he said, unconsciously ceasing to scratch Perry.

Perry chattered and rubbed his thighs together. "You want me to scratch your thighs, boy?" Ferb asked incredulously. Perry had never requested such a strange thing before.

In response, Perry growled. He rubbed his thighs together again. The realization hit Ferb like the time he hit himself with a wrench, when the brothers met Meap for the first time and fixed his spaceship. _The thighs,_ he thought. "You know, boy, you're pretty smart. You deserve a lot more credit than you get," Ferb said, giving Perry a half-smile. He snorted at the irony of the situation.

Perry chattered again. "Yeah, you're right. It's not right to be mad at Phineas. After all, it's not like he's done anything wrong to me. I'm just being moody. I'll go call him back," said Ferb, grabbing his phone. He opened it to see that he had a new voice message. He clicked it open.

Phineas's voice rang out through the static. "Hey Ferb, so Isabella and I were flying when the carpet ran out of battery. We landed on the balcony of a building shaped like your head, and some guy in a lab coat named Doofenshmirtz trapped us in a cage and is convinced that our pet platypus is a secret agent, and won't let us free. We really need your help. Please—" His voice broke off into a weird, pulsing, sonar sound. "Haha! Got it in my tractor beam! We wouldn't want anyone spoiling our nice surprise, would we?" Ferb heard a voice in the distance cackle. It sounded like a donkey with asthma. Then there was a crashing noise, and silence.

"Oh man. Phineas sounds like he's in trouble," said Ferb, instantly feeling guilty at all the jealousy and resentment he had previously been feeling about Phineas. "I gotta go help him – hey, where'd Perry go?"

**Help is on the way... but not exactly in the way Phineas and Isabella would normally expect it. Keep on reviewing!**


	5. The beginnings of a rescue--or not

**Oh, how plots thicken...**

Perry slipped on his fedora as he stomped three times on one of the planks on the living room floor, triggering the mechanism that sent him shooting down the tube to his secret agent lair. He was feeling a mix of annoyance and fear. On the one hand, he had been looking forward to his free evening to relax, and was a little teed off he had to spend it fighting Doof again, when he had already foiled his Evil Scheme for the day. On the other, he was afraid. Very afraid. And not just for Phineas and Isabella's safety.

He had gotten lucky the last time Phineas and Doofenshmirtz mixed by accident. Although Phineas was angry at finding out his pet was a secret agent, they were able to escape unscathed, and later, Perry was able to explain everything to Phineas, that he wanted to tell him about the secret agent life but couldn't because he would then have to be relocated. Phineas had immediately understood and repented for his irrational anger.

This time, Perry wasn't so sure. When he got to Doof's headquarters, there would be no time to explain what was going on. Perry was worried that Phineas would become angry like last time and lose focus on escaping, thus endangering the whole mission. And even if they did survive, he would have to be relocated. The thought sent a wave of nausea through him. He loved the brothers and their family and friends dearly, and couldn't imagine a life without them.

_Sometimes I wish I didn't do as much as I do right now,_ Perry thought to himself, clutching his hat as he plopped into his red chair in front of the big screen. Major Monogram blinked into view.

"Ah! Agent P." Perry tipped his fedora in greeting. "We recently received surveillance that your owner Phineas Flynn and his friend Isabella are trapped by Doofenshmirtz, who is building a device whose purpose is unknown. We need you to infiltrate his headquarters, rescue the two, and destroy this new evil machine.

"Be careful, Agent P. A breach in protocol like this – building two –inators in one day – can only come of two motivations: one, Doofenshmirtz forgot that he built an –inator earlier today and thinks he is only going through the standard routine; or two, he's been hit by a stroke of genius so evil that he had to put it into action right away. Either way, we need you to get there and put a stop to it!

"Rising dramatically from the floor behind you—" Here, Monogram was cut off by Carl, who leaped into view on the screen and proceeded to imitate a trumpet and drum. "Bpp-bpbpbppp, bpbpbppp, bpbppp! Bum, bum, bum, bum, bum, bum—"

"CARL!"

"Sorry sir. I just thought it would be appropriate."

"We already had dry ice set up to add pizazz! No need to ruin it with your singing."

"Well, no need to be hurtful." Carl crossed his arms and walked away. Perry rolled his eyes. "Well, anyway, Agent P, rising behind you is a new device we built to counter situations like the one we had earlier this summer, when your owners and Doofenshmirtz crossed paths. Based off the technology of Doof's Amnesia-inator, we've created a handheld device that does just the same thing. Try to work undercover as much as you can, but use it if necessary to make anyone forget their recent memories.

"Good luck, Agent P." With that, Perry saluted, grabbed the amnesia-inducing machine from the platform and a jetpack, and blasted off towards the scene of the crime.

* * *

"Um, Mr. Doofywhatsits—"

"It's Doofenshmirtz! HEINZ DOOFENSHMIRTZ! Jeez, why can't anyone get that right?" grumbled Doofenshmirtz as he screwed in a few bolts on the new machine, which looked rather like a big clear plastic sphere, he built.

"Whatever," Isabella conceded. "Can you at least tell us why you're not letting us go?!"

"Well, on the most basic terms," said Doofenshmirtz, pausing in his work to sit back and look at the kids in the cage, "I'm using you as bait."

"Bait," repeated Phineas, skepticism dripping off that one word.

"Yes, bait. With you here, Perry the Platypus will _have _to come and rescue you!"

"But—"

"Silence! And so, I'm devising the perfect trap, which will send him away for good! Then, I will use my technology from my De-volitionator, to take over everyone in the whole _Tri-State Area!_

"There's just, uh… ahem, one, small, problem though," he said, a little embarrassed. "The initial machine was a helmet that controlled one person, and I can't figure out how to make it so that I can control more than two people when I transfer the technology into a radiating device or blast ray or something like that, which of course is a setback to taking over the ENTIRE Tri-State Area… But you'll see! I'll get it!" he finished triumphantly. He opened a panel on the sphere and attached some wires.

"Switch the red and green wires," Phineas stated suddenly, instinctively, almost as if he couldn't help it.

Doofenshmirtz looked over with a blank expression on his face. "What?"

"The red one should match up to the remote control hard drive, and the green to the trap sensor mechanism. Otherwise the whole thing would blow up," added Phineas helpfully.

"Uh, Phineas, really not the best time to reveal you're a mastermind inventor who can fix anything," said Isabella sarcastically.

"Mastermind inventor, huh…" mused Doofenshmirtz. A grin slowly contorted onto his face. He rushed to a drawer and pulled out a device that looked like a gun. He slowly advanced towards the cage.

"Good thing I figured out the control-by-voice activation part for my prototype earlier," said Doofenshmirtz, a full evil smile clearly outlining his features. "And how to make it so that the controlled person doesn't object at all to anything I say, and follows my every command without reluctance. The last time I used the helmet – ugh! Perry the Platypus, with all his chattering and angry faces… it was so aggravating! But no more!"

"What's going on?" asked Phineas, confused and a little scared.

"Let's just say you're taking a nap for a _very _long time, and you have a very bad case of _sleep-building_," cackled Doofenshmirtz, flipping a switch on the device. A low hum filled the air, and the machine began to glow green light at one end.

"Oh no, oh no," cried Isabella, realizing what was going on. "Phineas, he's going to control us and make us lose our minds!"

"What?" asked Phineas, still oblivious.

In response, Isabella hugged Phineas, catching him by surprise. "Phineas, I really, really need to tell you something, before it's too late," she half-sobbed, holding tightly to him.

"Before what's too late?" Phineas asked, looking even more confused as Isabella leaned back a little and looked into his eyes.

She took in a deep breath. "Phineas, I lo—"

A green blast shot noisily out of the open end of the device, cutting Isabella off and engulfing the two in green light.

**Review, please!**


	6. Where's Perry?

**Sorry for the late update. It's getting really busy for me, school and all; expect updates every 2-3 days.**

"Go to strange building that looks like my head," commanded Ferb for the bajillionth time.

"Cannot compute. Try again," repeated the GPS-transporter in his phone for the bajillionth time.

"GAH!" Ferb growled, tossing the phone onto his bed next to the things he planned to take with him to rescue Phineas and Isabella. He figured he'd need the Molecular Separator (which they built another one of, in case something like when Candace and Jeremy fused together happened again. They kept it locked up at all times to prevent usage otherwise) and his trusty toolbox. He also had a pair of sunglasses, to up the cool factor of the rescue. _But there isn't going to _be_ a rescue mission if I don't even know where I'm supposed to go!_ he thought in frustration. He realized he'd have to get downtown, where he suspected the building where the two were to be, by slower means. He could catch a bus, or take the train…

_Or I could make my own means of transportation,_ he grinned, an idea popping into his head. He gathered up the things on his bed and ran outside to the backyard, grabbing some parts from the garage on the way.

Seventeen minutes later, he stood back and admired his work. Two sparkling new jetpacks sat on the ground before him, coupled with white helmets with fire blazes painted on the sides. One for him, one for Phineas…

_Oh wait… Phineas isn't here,_ he thought a little sadly to himself. In his fervor of constructing, he instinctively made one for Phineas too, forgetting that he was trapped somewhere far away. He realized that he really missed, and needed, Phineas. He just didn't feel whole without him. The thought spurred his adrenaline and immediately erased all jealous feelings for his step-brother. _Might as well just leave that one here,_ he thought, putting on his helmet. Before he could strap on the jetpack, though, his mom called him.

"Ferb, honey, do you want a peanut butter sandwich? Mrs. Johnson just brought over a whole bunch from one of her meetings, and I don't think I can finish them."

"Can't resist a peanut butter sandwich," he muttered to himself, smiling and dashing into the kitchen. His mom passed him one. "Oh, aren't you so cute in that helmet. Did you make it yourself?" she asked, passing him a sandwich from a tray stacked with them.

"Yep, gonna go for a ride," he said, filling his mouth with the peanut butter and bread. He took another one.

"Okay, well, be back by dinner. It's going to be a little later tonight; the pot roast is taking a little longer than I expected," his mom said, stirring a pot of gravy. "Come back around seven."

"Sure thing, mom," he replied, dashing back out. He grabbed a jetpack, hurriedly put it on, and blasted over the house and down the street, Molecular Separator and toolbox in hand, sunglasses tilted stylishly on his face. A couple blocks away, he saw Buford walking. He sped towards him and stopped in front of him.

"Hey Ferb, what'cha doin?" Buford asked. He looked around, like he was afraid someone would see him, and when no Isabella appeared in indignation, he cackled.

"No time to explain. Grab my ankles," ordered Ferb, hovering in front of Buford.

"Sure thing, Schwarzenegger," commented Buford snidely. He grabbed his ankles, and Ferb shot back into the air and sped towards downtown Boston. "Nice shades, by the way. So, what's goin' on?"

"It seems as though Phineas and Isabella have gotten themselves into a little situation. They're currently somewhere in downtown Danville, trapped by some person. Look for a building that looks for my head," said Ferb over his shoulder, scanning the grid of buildings appearing at the horizon as they neared Downtown.

"So, like a rescue mission for Dinner Bell and Girly? Do I get to beat anyone up?" asked Buford incredulously.

"If need be, yes, you can beat someone up," replied Ferb in a tired voice.

"Awesome! I'm in," yelped Buford in excitement.

"Can you call the Fireside Girls and tell them we need backup? We'll tell them the location downtown once we find out where it is."

"Uh, a little busy here," said Buford, looking pointedly at his hands.

"It didn't occur to me that you only had one hand," said Ferb sarcastically. "Just hold on with one arm! Unless you're too weak?"

"Nobody, and I mean nobody, calls me weak!" yelled Buford, irritated. He let go with his right hand and dug into his pocket for his phone.

"Hey, who is this? Yeah, Gertrude. Gretchen. Whatever. Dinner Bell and Girly are – what? No, no! Phineas and Isabella! Phineas and Isabella are trapped somewhere in downtown Danville. Ferb and I are currently locating their whereabouts, but we'll tell you when we find the place – What? You're already in downtown Danville? Okay, great. Look for a building that looks like Ferb's head. See ya." Buford snapped the phone shut and said, "All set."

"That could've gone smoother," said Ferb, rolling his eyes.

"Well, I'm rough and tough. Live with it," rasped Buford, grinning.

Ferb snorted. They raced across the sky, keeping a sharp lookout for any strange-looking buildings.

* * *

Meanwhile, Perry blasted through the sky on his jetpack, bee-lining for Doof's headquarters. As always, he did a quick analysis of the scene: Doof was on the balcony with a big looking machine that looked partially finished. In his lab coat pocket there was a… remote? He'd have to get that, in case it was important. Phineas and Isabella were nowhere to be seen.

He shot right into Doof, knocking him back with a loud "OOMPH!" Perry whipped off his jetpack and saw Doof recover quickly and rush at him with a big wrench overhead. As Doof neared him and swung down, Perry caught his arm in a judo-lock. He grabbed Doof's coat and deftly slipped the remote into one hand unnoticed. Then he threw him head over heels.

The momentum of the throw made him somersault backward, during which he tucked the remote under his fedora on his head. He felt his webbed foot click against a button on the floor, and the floor underneath him opened up. A feeling of half annoyance, half fear washed over the monotreme as a clear plastic sphere shot out of the opening, enclosing around his midsection so that his arms and head were outside the sphere, but the other half of his body was inside. He was trapped!

"Ah, Perry the Platypus! I knew you would come to answer the call of distress. How nice it is to see you again! _Not,_" cackled Doof. He walked towards the sphere.

"Well, you see, Perry the Platypus, I have had a stroke of genius," he said, his voice cracking in excitement. "I thought long and hard about why, oh why, my –Inators always fail. And I've decided that it's not the –Inator's fault, it's the trap's! The trap never keeps you _actually_ trapped for long enough. So I've built an –Inator _into_ the trap itself," he said, patting to the sphere with affection. Perry widened his eyes in shock. Doof's idea was, this time, actually... _smart._

"It's like the version of the Trip-to-the-Desert-inator, except it will send you away to a random location this time! I call it… the Trip-to-the-Random-Place-That-Might-Be-Here-But-Probably-Won't-inator! By the time you break out of the trap, you will be much too far away to stop me!

"Of course," Doof added in slight embarrassment, "there's always the little possibility that you might actually end up somewhere else _here in the room,_ which would have made this –Inator useless… But the chances are slim, so no matter!"

Just then, Phineas and Isabella walked into view out of a closet, carrying an armful of metal parts. Regardless of what would happen afterwards, regardless that his secret agent cover would be blown, Perry had never felt a greater sense of joy when he saw the two. He smiled widely and chattered, waving his hands.

There was no response. Phineas and Isabella continued to trudge towards the balcony, where they did something so surprising Perry had to rub his eyes and check again: they were building the –Inator.

"Oh yes, Perry the Platypus," said Doof gleefully, clapping his hands. "I have completely taken over their minds! They have no volition! They are volition-less! All part of my _evil plan_. And what is more, soon you will be out of the picture, and I finally will finally be able to take over the _Tri-State Area!_"

Perry chattered. He crossed his arms.

"What? Oh, no evil monologue this time. I already spilled to those two. Plus, I want to get this over with," Doof replied, gesturing to Phineas and Isabella.

He walked to the sphere and pressed some buttons on a panel. "As they say, Perry the Platypus," he said, standing back, "I'll see you _around!_ Get it, because it's a sphere? It's round? That was a pretty good one," he said, jabbing at Perry.

The trap started to hum and shake. Perry cast a desperate glance at Phineas and Isabella. They were still putting parts onto the machine with great efficiency, not even noticing the platypus. With alarm and almost sadness, Perry suddenly noticed the faint green glow around them, the blank expression in their dull eyes. He heard the trap ding and looked down. It glowed for a couple seconds, flashed a bright yellow, and then the whole thing, platypus and all, disappeared.

Doof looked around expectantly, as if he were expecting Perry and the trap to reform somewhere in the room any second. When no Perry reappeared, he laughed with glee.

Doof pointed at Phineas and Isabella, working fast and hard. "You there! Step it up! We've got another –Inator to build, and I've got a schedule to keep! I have a dinner reservation at that new restaurant in town at seven o'clock sharp!"

They saluted him and continued working.

**I know.. not the most satisfying chapter. But I needed to set up the rest of the story, and I promise I'll update as frequently as possible. Please review!**


	7. Found it! Now I just have to survive

"Ugh. How many more boxes do I have to bring up to your new apartment, Uncle Maulik?" complained Baljeet, leaning against the doorframe.

"We still have at least two dozen. Go help out your mother and father," ordered Uncle Maulik gently.

"Why?! This is such a waste of time for me. I would much rather have gone with Phineas and Ferb on that trip around Danville on the flying rug, even though we've already done it once," protested Baljeet. "I am not even that strong! I am not of much use anyway!"

"Baljeet, you still owe me, you know," Uncle Maulik replied sternly. "You did cost me another plane ticket to Hawaii when you somehow managed to transport me to Danville."

"Fine," Baljeet grumbled. "It does not help that the stupid elevator is _broken,_ so I have to climb up and down eighteen flights of stairs every time I bring up a box!" he called back as he made his way down the steps.

"I wonder how much a plane ticket to Hawaii would cost right now…" Baljeet heard his uncle wonder out loud, obviously meant for Baljeet. He let out a sigh. He had forgotten how sarcastic his uncle could be.

_This is going to be a long evening,_ Baljeet thought darkly to himself.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooo oooooooooooooooooooooooooooo ooooo

"Not surprisingly, there seems to be a lack of Ferb-shaped buildings in Danville," commented Buford sarcastically.

"Thank you for that, Buford. Will you be here all night?" Ferb shot back, irritated. They were losing time! They had been flying around for over half an hour. He didn't want to imagine what horrors Phineas and Isabella might be going through right now. And he wanted to rescue Isabella as soon as possible. Maybe if she saw how heroic he was, she'd be convinced that he was just as good as Phineas…

Ferb was so caught up in his thoughts that he accidentally dipped down too low while flying. Buford knocked into a satellite dish on one of the buildings, and with a loud "Oof!" of surprise, he lost his grip and fell towards the ground.

Fear seized Ferb. _Not again!_ he thought desperately to himself. He rocketed towards Buford, who was now letting loose curses like no one's business, frantically trying to reach him in time. He estimated he had five seconds to impact with the ground. He clipped the toolbox to his belt, freeing one hand,

Four seconds. He surged forward. Buford continued to scream like a baby.

Three seconds. The gap slowly started to close.

Two seconds. _I can't make it,_ Ferb thought frantically. But he added more speed and rushed forward.

A second before Buford hit the ground, Ferb reached out and grabbed him by the ankles. He quickly changed his angle of descent, now flying parallel to the compact streets of downtown Danville, trying to decelerate to have a smoother landing. Buford made the situation that much more difficult for Ferb to concentrate with his nonstop screams of fear.

That was when the jetpack engine puttered and died away.

"Oh, this is just great," Ferb spat to himself.

"PLEASE LET ME LIVE PLEASE LET ME LIVE I PROMISE I WILL NEVER BULLY A NERD EVER AGAIN JUST LET ME LIVE," screamed Buford.

The duo tumbled ungracefully onto the sidewalk, stopping only when they rolled into the side of a moving truck, coughing and groaning. They lay tangled up for a moment, recovering from the shock. Ferb got up first. He stretched and assessed himself. He still had his toolbox on his belt and his sunglasses in his pocket. Miraculously, the Molecular Separator was intact. He noted minor scratches on his person, but nothing serious. He looked over at Buford, who was slowly climbing his way to a standing position, moaning and groaning about how much it hurt.

"Wimp," Ferb remarked quietly.

Buford immediately stopped groaning and stiffened. "Did you just call me a wimp, nerd?!" he yelled.

"He's okay," Ferb said to himself with a laugh. He assessed their surroundings, and saw that they had landed right across from a very tall building. The doorman and a couple delivery workers stared at him, shocked. He gave a small salute, and laughed to himself at their expression. He looked up at the building, and sure enough, it looked like his head. _A tad creepy,_ he thought, nevertheless grinning at the sight.

"Well. How serendipitous," commented Buford, joining Ferb in staring at the huge building. "Funny we didn't notice it before. Well, all's well that ends well. I'm gonna go call the Firewhosywhatsits and tell 'em where we are." He walked a little distance, pulled out his phone and dialed a number. "Hey Grace – Gretchen. Whatever…"

**More coming soon (hopefully!)**


	8. I'm NOT a pharmacist! Jeez!

**Two chapters.. not bad eh?**

"So, Stacy, tomorrow is the big Annual Townwide Midsummer Night Party!" squealed Candace into the phone. "And as much as you don't like it, it's a word. Jeremy's taking me! And what's more, I've decided that tomorrow, I'm just not going to obsess myself over Phineas and Ferb and their c-_razy_ inventions. I'm just going to relax, have fun, and forget about…"

Candace leaned back and happened to glance out the window, and saw the jetpack Ferb had made for Phineas and left in the backyard.

"Forget about that, Stacy. I'll be right back," she said, an edge coming into her voice. She stormed down the stairs, and out the back door, yelling "MOM! MOM!"

"Yes, dear?" her mom answered.

"Look what Phineas and Ferb built!" yelled Candace. Her mom appeared into view and stared at what Candace was gesturing and beaming at.

"Aw, look! It's a cute little backpack and a helmet! Oh, those boys are _so _creative," she gushed, then returned to the kitchen.

"Nooo!" shouted Candace, stomping her foot. "It's not just a backpack! It's a JETPACK! I'm sure of it! See, I'll show you. When I just put it on…" She slid her arms into the straps of the jetpack and tucked her hair into the helmet. "And press this button…" She pushed the button, and the jetpack spurred to life and launched into the air, spiraling away from the house.

"AHHHHH!" screamed Candace, flying into the distance.

"Alright, Candace, what did you want me to see?" asked her mom again, walking out to the back door a second time. She noticed no one was there and sighed in mild frustration.

"Oh, teenagers," she huffed, heading back into the house. "Always exaggerating."

* * *

"So, Ferb, what's the plan?" asked Adyson.

All the Fireside Girls had gathered to the entrance to the building within two minutes. How they did it, Ferb had no idea.

They and Buford now looked at Ferb. He coughed uncomfortably. He wasn't used to being the spotlight of attention. He wondered if he really _did_ want fame and glory for the stuff he did all the time. He wasn't sure he could stand it.

He looked around at their expectant faces, watching him intently, and thought of Phineas and Isabella. Determination coursed through his veins, and he straightened. "Right. Here's the plan: Get Phineas and Isabella. Get out."

"What if someone tries to stop us? Didn't you say that they were being held hostage by some pharmacist for some reason?" piped up Holly.

"I got that," rumbled Buford, grinning and cracking his knuckles.

"How do we know what room they're in? It could take hours before we even find the right floor!" exclaimed Ginger in despair.

Ferb examined the side of the building, counting the number of windows. "Thirty four or thirty five," he noted. "The balcony is on either the thirty-fourth or -fifth floor."

"Great. Let's go then!" cheered Katie. They all whooped and ran into the building, but stopped short when they noticed the broken elevator.

"Aw man, we have to climb up thirty four flights of stairs?!" grumped Milly.

"A good chance to work out my quads," mused Buford. "I don't do enough of that. C'mon guys, let's go! I wanna bust stuff!" He flew to the stairs and started to run up. The others shrugged and followed, if a little reluctantly.

"Man, I could really use some warm-up," commented Buford after several flights of stairs. "Wish Baljeet was here. He always makes good warm-up for busting."

As if on cue, as Buford turned the corner of the stairs, Baljeet ran into him.

"Oof!" Baljeet exclaimed in surprise.

"Baljeet! Great! We were just talkin' about ya!" said Buford, overjoyed.

"Is that a good thing or a ba-oof!" started Baljeet, to which Buford promptly picked him up around the waist and commenced running up the stairs again.

"Obviously a bad thing," reflected Baljeet dismally.

"Why are you here?" asked Ferb, surprised.

"I told you, I have to help my uncle Maulik move into his new apartment. I have to carry boxes up so many flights of stairs," Baljeet lamented.

"Well, we're going to help save Phinbel—I mean, Phineas and Isabella from an evil pharmacist," said Ferb. "Want to come?"

"That sounds much better than carrying boxes up flights of stairs," Baljeet replied. "Sure thing! Not that I have much choice," he added, gesturing to Buford.

"Quiet, you! I'm doin' you a huge favor, carryin' you up these stairs!" shouted Buford indignantly. "You want me to drop ya?"

"Oh no, no, it is most gratifying," backtracked Baljeet, flashing a weak grin.

Several minutes later, they arrived at the thirty-fourth floor. "So, is this it? Or is it the thirty-fifth?" asked Gretchen, a little out of breath.

"Oh, oh! It is here! I have done the math!" exclaimed Baljeet, shaking paper and calculator with his fists triumphantly.

"You don't even know where we're going," replied Holly. "How can you do _math_ about it?"

"I have calculated the averages and the measurements, and I have deduced it is this floor! That room! Facing the balcony, right?" said Baljeet, pointing at a door to an apartment.

"Yes," replied Ferb.

"It is here! FOR PHINEAS AND ISABELLA!" screamed Baljeet, launching himself towards the door. He shoved it open and screamed, "AHA! TAKE THAT, YOU FIEND! GIVE US BACK OUR FRIENDS!"

In the room, there was no pharmacist. There was only a man sitting in his recliner, reading a newspaper. He looked up in shock at the nine kids, and particularly goggled at the Indian boy who had just screamed at him to return his friends.

Baljeet focused on the scene and saw that he had been wrong. "Oops. I am so extremely sorry," he laughed nervously. "Oh, would you look at the time; I must run! Good evening to you, sir!" he said in a rushed voice. He hightailed into the stairwell and dashed up the stairs to the thirty-fifth floor. Ferb, Buford, and the Fireside Girls followed to see him pondering over the papers.

"Ah, you see? I replaced a sine with a cosine! Silly me!" he exclaimed, laughing at himself. When no one joined in, he slowly ceased his laughter. "What? I _am_ human," he said defensively.

"C'mon, guys. Phineas and Isabella are waiting for us and need help! And Baljeet," he added quietly, "I'll take care of the door. No need to scream as well."

"Fine," grumbled Baljeet.

Ferb paced towards the door. He tried the knob. It was locked. He exhaled, inhaled, and stomped his foot on the door, tearing it off its hinges with a _BAM!_

Everyone stared in awe. "Whoa, dude. Nice quads," rasped Buford.

Ferb motioned for them to be quiet and follow him inside. They recovered from the initial shock, and tiptoed into the apartment. It was a huge, lofty room, full of computers and machines that just looked… evil. Everything was dark-colored. They saw the open balcony at the end of the hall, with a strange-looking uncompleted contraption in the middle of it facing the sky, but no sign of Phineas or Isabella. Then they heard a voice.

"Ah… hello, children," the voice grated. They looked around, unable to find its source in the echoing hall.

Holly nudged Ginger. "Can donkeys talk? 'Cause if so…"

"I have been expecting you," the voice continued.

"Creepy," whispered Buford.

"You _do _keep life-sized molds of us," commented Baljeet snidely.

"That's because you're my friends—" started Buford, when all of a sudden, something blue fell from the ceiling and landed on the floor about thirty feet in front of them. It lifted its head to gaze at them. On closer inspection, the blue thing revealed itself to be…

"Perry?!" choked Ferb.

Just then, dozens more fell down from the ceiling, making a phalanx, cutting the children's path to the machine off.

"What the…" wondered Buford out loud.

Just then, Phineas and Isabella walked out of a closet with metal parts and wires in their arms on the other side of the river of Perry's.

"Phineas! Isabella!" cried Ferb in relief. "Guys! We're here to save you!"

"Why are Phineas and Isabella glowing green?" asked Gretchen tentatively. Another Perry dropped down from the ceiling.

Phineas and Isabella didn't even glance at the kids rescuing them. They walked over to the contraption and started adding the parts to the contraption.

"Why aren't they even noticing us?" Baljeet asked fearfully.

"Guys!" repeated Ferb again in desperation. His mind was blank. He didn't know what to do, he was so confused and – afraid. Deep down, he was afraid. They seemed to _like_ it here. What had happened to them? Who had done this to them? Where was that weird pharmacist Doofenshmirtz?

Suddenly, as if on cue, a white blur shot down from the ceiling and thudded onto the floor behind the Perry's. "OW! OW! Oh, my Heinz heiny! That did _not_ go as smooth as I expected," said the figure, standing up and dusting his white lab coat off.

"The pharmacist!" exclaimed Adyson.

"This is just getting weirder and weirder," said a shocked Buford.

Another Perry dropped down from the ceiling.

"I am _not_ a pharmacist!" shouted the man in the lab coat angrily. "Why does everyone think that?! I am _Heinz Doofenshmirtz, soon-to-be leader of the _TRI-STATE AREA! And now, your plan to rescue your friends and stop me will _fail!_" he finished gleefully, staring expectantly at the children.

Nothing happened.

"Well, what are you waiting for?!" Doof exclaimed to the Perry's, who were still staring at the kids. "Get them!" He shook his finger at the children.

The Perry's made whirring noises and swiftly clanked towards the kids.

"Mechanical Perry's?! What's next? Candace flying in on a jetpack?!" exclaimed Baljeet.

"Guys, grab a tool and ready yourselves. This ain't lookin' like it'll end easy," ordered Buford. Everyone quickly grabbed a tool from Ferb's toolbox and formed themselves in a line against the advancing Perry's.

Ferb gave a thumbs-up, and they all charged.

**Review please!**


	9. Agent P and Mr P

**This is sorta my tribute to Paul, the mobile logistics technicians. I thought he was a pretty cool character, so I decided to include him in this chapter. Hope you like.**

Through his tightly clenched eyes, Perry felt the obtrusive green light finally die away after what seemed like eternity, but he didn't dare open his eyes. He didn't want to know where he ended up. He could be in an underground sewage tunnel, in Antarctica, or, God forbid, actually midair and falling to his death right now…

"Hey! Haven't I seen you before?" Perry heard someone next to him say. Relieved that he wasn't at least in a volcano or something else life-threatening, he dared to open his eyes a tiny crack, and then opened them wide, shocked at what he saw.

He was at a beach. It was a perfect day; the sun was shining bright, warming his skin, but not too obtrusively, so that he wanted shade. There was a slight breeze ruffling his hair. The crystal clear blue water rippled with sparkles from the sunlight. Perry looked around in amazement. There was white sand everywhere, and people were milling around or resting under umbrellas, enjoying the beautiful day. Coconut trees dotted the landscape, and behind him he saw huge, new-age glass buildings he assumed were hotels.

"Aren't you that platypus I helped a while back?" asked the man next to Perry again. Perry turned and recognized the man as Paul, the delivery guy.

Perry chattered in agreement.

"How'd you get to Hawaii? No, don't answer that question. Your friend Doofyshmitz probably zapped you with something, huh?" He cracked a grin. Perry chattered in amusement.

"Yeah… remember last time? He was gonna try to turn City Hall to juice. And his little thing actually worked… 'cept, we stopped him, 'course. Man, that was weird.

"Well, good to see ya! Dad said I'd been workin' hard and I deserved a break, so here I am, at a resort in Maui! Whoa, you're trapped in a glass ball," Paul noticed all of a sudden. Perry chattered in annoyance. "You want me to go get a hammer? I can smash you out and…"

He was interrupted by Perry putting up his hands and chattering urgently. As much as Perry wanted to stay and enjoy Hawaii, he knew he needed to get back. But this was his chance to get an upper hand on Doof. He chattered again.

"You need what?" asked Paul in confusion. Perry chattered again.

"Oh, macadamia nuts. You hungry or something? There's a bunch of stuff a lot better than macadamia nuts," said Paul, a look of reminiscence on his face. Perry chattered again, snapping him out of it. "Okay, not for food. Whatever. You need a metal helmet – hey, cool, I'll just lend you mine! I rented this sweet bike for transportation," said Paul, pointing at a motorcycle in the parking lot of one of the resorts with a silver helmet dangling from the handlebars. "And a universal self-destruct button… Okay, little dude, be right back!"

Paul got up and sprinted away. Perry had to smile in appreciation. A platypus suddenly appears out of nowhere on his vacation from a stressful job and he gladly helps the platypus gather the obscure materials he needs. Plus, he could understand platypus talk. Paul was a good guy.

Twenty-five minutes later, he returned with all the things Perry requested. _And fast,_ thought Perry, feeling respect for Paul. He was good at his job of getting things where he needed to be.

"Okay little dude… here's a bag of macadamia nuts, my helmet, and a universal self-destruct button. You're gonna go back to stop Doof, right?" asked Paul, handing Perry the objects. Perry nodded.

He took out the remote from inside his hat he had stolen from Doof before he got sent away. His suspicions were confirmed when he saw the big red "REVERSE" label on the remote that it would take him home.

"Well, good luck, little dude. If you have some time afterwards or some other day in the next week, come visit again! I can show you around – they had some pretty sick places here," said Paul. Perry smiled and chattered his consent. He put on the helmet, which was a little big, and tucked the bag of macadamia nuts and self-destruct button under his arms. Then he pushed the button on the remote, and the whole thing, sphere and all, glowed a bright green light and disappeared.

**A new chapter will follow extremely soon. I'm excited how it's all gonna go down at Doof's. *Phinbella Ferbnessa* what?**


	10. Phineas is back

**When I say soon, I mean soon.**

The fight started out even.

Although the gang was outnumbered by the platypuses, the sheer determination of the kids and the efficient, destructive power of Ferb's Molecular Separator kept the platypuses at bay. But as time passed, the number of the robots never seemed to diminish, as new ones constantly joined in the fray, dropping down from the ceiling at intervals, always keeping the fight even. Ferb noticed that everyone was tiring, even Buford, who was pummeling away at the robots with bare fists. Ferb risked a moment to look up in the rafters of the lofty room, to look for the source of the platypus robots. He observed a platypus jump down from the rafters and deduced the general area where they were coming from, and proceeded to shoot multiple beams from the Molecular Separator in that direction. Chaos ensued as metal beams and sheets rained down, almost crushing the kids.

"What's going on?!" shouted Doofenshmirtz from over at the balcony, busily working on the new machine. "What the… What's happening to my ceiling?! You!" He pointed at Phineas. "Get him! Isabella works better than you!" Phineas lumbered off to face off Ferb. "I bet she's one of those Fireside Girls – she can do almost anything," continued Doof, muttering to himself.

Phineas slowly closed in on Ferb. Ferb gave a pleading look to Phineas, but Phineas's march to confront Ferb continued unfazed. Ferb's gaze hardened, and when Phineas launched himself at Ferb, he was ready. He used the momentum of Phineas's rush to catapult Phineas behind him. He smiled in contempt, and was promptly met by a tackle from Phineas, sending him sprawling through the mess of platypus robot parts.

The fight between kid and platypus-robot continued on around them.

"FOR ISABELLA!" cheered the Fireside Girls, whacking away at the robots with an assortment of hammers and wrenches.

"FOR HANUMAN MAN!" screamed Baljeet, tackling another robot.

"I'm just doin' this for fun," grinned Buford in response, kicking another platypus out of his way.

Meanwhile, Phineas took Ferb, who was on the ground groaning, by the shoulders and sent him flying into the closet of parts. Phineas quickly followed and leaped onto Ferb's chest, trapping him. He grabbed Ferb by the neck, and Ferb automatically burped, right into Phineas's face.

Phineas's face contorted, and he muttered, "Smells like peanut butter…"

And then, magically, his eyes focused. His green glow faded away.

_Aw man, I can smell the peanut butter!_

_I know what we're gonna do today!_

_Ferb? He's more of a man of action._

_Wow... Laser beam, magnet ray, cup holder. You really thought of everything, Ferb._

_Well, a brother is a brother… but I couldn't ask for a better one than Ferb. You know what I mean?_

Phineas jerked back and gasped.

"Phineas? Can you hear me?" coughed Ferb, still recovering from Phineas grabbing his neck.

"What the…" Phineas stared around in wonder. "What just happened?"

"Threw me into a closet… and almost choked me to death," managed Ferb in a weak voice.

"Oh man, I'm so sorry, dude," said Phineas, rushing over to Ferb and helping him up. Ferb motioned for him to go outside and help the others, that he was fine.

"Wait, Ferb. I need to ask you something," said Phineas in a determined voice.

Ferb shook his head, and slowly limped over to the door. Phineas beat him to it and slammed the door shut.

"Ferb, I need to ask you something. It's important." Ferb sighed. He knew that when Phineas was like this, nothing could stop him.

"Ferb… it's about Isabella." Ferb stiffened. "During the carpet ride a little while ago, I thought some stuff that… I never felt before. It occurred to me how cute she looked, and how smart and kind she is, and… I think I… l-like her. Like, more than a friend." Phineas sighed and sat down. "But I don't know if she likes me back, so I don't want to say anything to her."

When Ferb heard that, he tried to laugh, but his throat still hurt, so he awkwardly stopped. "Phineas, I advise you to go on with your plan. I think you should tell Isabella, assuming we can get out of this mess first—"

"But what if she thinks I'm weird? What if she doesn't like me back? What if she hates me forever and never wants to see me again?" asked Phineas rapid-fire, working himself into a frenzy. He looked up at Ferb, and from Ferb's furrowed brow, he knew Ferb was mad. But before he could say anything more, Ferb spoke.

"Phineas, I shouldn't be the one telling you this, but Isabella likes you. A lot more than you think. It's just that _you_—" he jabbed Phineas in the chest – "are TOO OBLIVIOUS to ever notice!"

"No I'm not—" started Phineas indignantly. That was when Ferb snapped.

"YES. Yes you are. Phineas, tell me, why do you think Isabella asked you to go to the Falling Stars Girls' Choice Dance, way back long ago?"

"Well, because she thinks we're her best friends—"

"No, Phineas. She asked only you. Because she thinks _you're _her best friend. And tell me, why do you think she wanted to go see the premiere of the Stumbleberry Finkbat movie with you?"

Phineas scratched his ear uncomfortably. "She probably liked that movie and wanted to—"

"No, Phineas! She really doesn't like that genre of movies. She asked you to go to that movie because she knew you liked it, and thought that it would be the movie you would be most willing to see. Why do you think it was so important to her that you would come with her?"

"Because she's scared of—?"

"Honestly, Phineas…" Ferb rolled his eyes in disdain. "Phineas, what kinds of people go to movies together?"

"Uh, friends… families… couples…" A light came on in Phineas's eyes as he realized something.

"Why did she think it was so important that you thought she was cute, when Meap came to Earth? Why was she so depressed when you didn't notice her in Paris, the city of love? Why did she blush when you offered to take her on a _romantic cruise_? Why was the phrase "our grandchildren" so important to her? Why—" Ferb took a deep, shuddering breath, and Phineas noticed, with shock, that he was tearing up, "—Why is it that every time she comes over, every day without fail, she says 'Hey _Phineas,_ what'cha doin'?' Not Baljeet, not Buford, not Candace, not _Ferb_ – PHINEAS!" Ferb shouted.

Phineas stared at him in shock. Ferb limped to the door again and started outside. He turned back, eyes filled with sadness, and said, "I'm sorry," and limped back into the fight.

**More twists in this story than a bag of pretzels!**


	11. DesperateTimesCallForDesperate Measures

**I sorta like this chapter a lot, to be honest.**

Phineas sat that way for a long time, staring off into the direction Ferb's red-rimmed eyes had just previously occupied. Thoughts and memories ran through his head at a million miles per hour.

_"Why was she so depressed when you didn't notice her in Paris, the city of _love?"

_She likes me?_

_She actually likes me?_

_How could I not have noticed?_

_"Hey Phineas, what'cha doin'?"_

_"How 'bout a romantic dinner for two? Wanna sip, Phineas?"_

_"Isabella, want to come with me?" "YES! I mean, yeah, sure, you know, whatever, it's all good bro."_

_"Well that's perfect!" "Yes, yes it is."_

_"Did you hear that? 'Aunt Isabella'! That means I'm gonna marry Phineas!"_

Phineas heard cacophonous clanging noises outside the closet room, jolting out of the memories of the past summer. He knew what he had to do. He was going to go out there and tell Isabella exactly how he felt!

He put his hand on the knob and was about to turn it… when he remembered where he was. Isabella had been turned into a mindless zombie. Ferb and his friends were fighting for their lives. Oh, and an evil scientist was trying to take over his hometown. He kicked the wall angrily. Now he was sure he really blew it this time. He'd have to tell her later, when – if – they were ever safe and back to normal…

An idea slowly formulated in Phineas's oblivious mind. If Isabella really loved him as much as Ferb stated… she'd go right back to normal when she saw him, right? At least she would if she heard him speak. Then, together, they'd stop the evil scientist! He grinned, confidence growing in his chest. He flung the door open and yelled "ISABELLA! HEY!"

* * *

Ferb quickly glanced around, analyzing the situation. A Fireside girl – Milly? Holly? – was lying on the ground away from the fight, covered in cuts and groaning, and Adyson was tending to her wounds with a portable first-aid kit. Everyone else was holding their own fine, but Ferb noticed that the kids had been pushed back a drastic amount, and were now almost at the doorway. Robot platypuses continued to leap down from the rafters somewhere. _I must stop them_, thought Ferb, an abnormal amount of clarity in his head. He felt awakened, refreshed, even, by his tirade to Phineas. Now that he had gotten his mind off his plate, he felt focused and determined again, like he usually was, before he started letting the lack of attention and fame and Isabella distract him with bitter thoughts. _Molecular Separator. Rafters._

Ferb stumbled to the camera-like invention – he had landed on his left ankle at an uncomfortable angle when Phineas threw him into the closet, and now it throbbed like crazy and he had to keep off it – and collapsed next to it. He grasped it, lying down face-up, and proceeded to shoot multiple blasts from the Separator into the ceiling. More beams and metal infrastructure rocketed down, sending up clouds of dust.

A few of the Fireside girls and Baljeet screamed when they heard the sudden loud noise, attracting the attention of Doofenshmirtz, who was still busily working on the machine on the balcony with Isabella. He looked up and locked eyes with Ferb. Ferb gave him his best taunting face, which came out more like a grimace of pain, and shot another beam from the Separator into the ceiling.

"You again?!" Doof yelled, miffed. "Jeez. Stronger than your brother, eh? Fine! I'll have _her_ take care of you! Get him!" he ordered Isabella. She immediately stopped working and marched to Ferb.

Ferb managed to stand up. "Isabella, please, don't do this," he implored. In the back of his mind, he thought vaguely about how much he had talked today. _You really learn about yourself in times of crisis,_ he thought. He was distracted by the thought and didn't react quickly enough to Isabella's swinging arm, flinging him towards the ground over his head.

_Since when was Isabella so strong?_ Ferb thought dryly.

He hit the cold, metal floor with his left ankle, causing him to gasp in pain. Isabella's foot met with his abdomen, sending him rolling towards the wall. He clutched his side in agony. _Pain is just a message, Ferb,_ he ordered to himself. _Get up. _

He obeyed, and promptly was hit by the Molecular Separator that Isabella chucked at him. He crumpled to the ground, gripping the Separator tightly in his hands, trying to stay focused, trying to get rid of the stars in his eyes.

He was dimly aware, through the bursts on light in his vision, of Isabella marching towards him again in slow motion. _No, this isn't happening,_ he thought, almost lazily._ Stop it._

Then, a cry split the air, snapping him out of his trance. "ISABELLA! HEY!"

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooo oooooooooooooooooooooooooooo ooooo

_Isabella's POV_

I heard a voice call my name. I remembered my name. My muddled, thoughtless brain tried to make sense of it, why that voice was so familiar. The more I thought about it, the more I remembered. _My name is Isabella Garcia-Shapiro. I am eleven years old. I love Phin—_

Then, a piercing voice stabbed through my ears into my brain; a scratchy, yet extremely convincing voice: "Oh, great, you too? Hey you, Fireside girl – get him too."

Then the memories were gone, and I felt no emotion.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooo oooooooooooooooooooooooooooo ooooooooo

"Oh, great, you too? Hey you," said Doof, gesturing the wrench he was holding at Isabella, "Fireside girl - get him too."

"Isabella! It's me! Phineas!" cried Phineas from the doorway. His heart lifted when Isabella started to walk towards him. He didn't notice that the faint, faint, green glow was still around her, nor the blank expression still lingering on her face. He paced towards her, arms open. "Oh, Isabella, I'm so sorry—"

When Isabella reached him, she cut him off by doing the same thing she did to Ferb: throwing him head over heels towards the balcony.

"Wahhh—" yelled Phineas, rolling towards the balcony railing, stopping with a hard _THUNK!_ on the metal. "OW!" he yelled. He touched his face in mild surprise and pain, feeling blood from a cut running down his temple and cheek. The next thing he knew, Isabella was hoisting him up by his shirt collar, his back to the railing. She leaned him slightly over the side. Phineas looked over his shoulder at the ground, so far below that trees looked like ants with green afros.

"Ha-HA! Now, now, say: 'Any last words?'" said Doofenshmirtz with glee, who had gone to the closet for some last parts. "I heard it in a movie once. _Awesome!"_

"Any last words?" repeated Isabella without emotion, her face inches away from Phineas's. It occurred to him how beautiful her eyes were, even when they had no emotion. He noticed, a little sadly, how they sparkled in the setting sun, and realized that this was probably the last time he would ever get a good look at them.

"Yes, I do have some last words," answered Phineas. Doof looked over, a curious look on his face. Isabella tilted her head, seeming confused. Phineas took a deep breath.

"I want to say that I'm sorry," he said, looking deep into Isabella's eyes. "I'm sorry for never noticing your hints, your attempts to get me to notice how you felt. I'm sorry I sometimes made you feel really bad because of my absolutely horrid obliviousness. But most of all, I'm sorry I got you in this mess. I'm sorry I didn't control the carpet right, because I was too focused on you during the ride. I'm sorry I let you get turned into a mindless slave. And more than anything, I'm sorry that we're not going to have a future together. Because," he said, taking another deep breath, bigger than the first, "I-I love you."

Phineas leaned in, placed a hand on Isabella's cheek, and kissed her.

**Cliffhanger!**


	12. The End

For a heart-stopping moment, nothing happened.


	13. Just Kidding!

**Gotcha! It ain't over yet, for a long time. I'm not that mean.**

Then something in the air shattered. It was almost tangible; Phineas could feel it.

The green glow hazing over Isabella's vision faded away, and her expression returned to normal. She could think again. She remembered her name, her family, her friends, memories, Phineas. She could hear everything, see everything, feel everything. She had never felt so refreshed.

That was when she noticed the lips on hers.

She jerked back suddenly, horrified, and with a start, realized it was Phineas. He looked into her eyes and gave a weak laugh of relief.

"Oh, Isabella, you're back," he said weakly but happily, pulling her in tight for a hug.

Isabella, on the other hand, felt as though she was going to faint. This was her every dream come true. It was not possible this was really happening in the real world. This must be some side effect of losing control of her mind or something… It couldn't be real… Could it?

"Ph-Phineas?" she stuttered, gripping him tightly, enjoying the feeling but still confused. She couldn't stare anywhere else but into his eyes. "What's going on?"

"I'm so, so sorry," managed Phineas through the embrace. "I just wanted to tell – no, show – you how I felt about you. I'm just sorry we had to go through being mindless slaves of _that _nutjob—" he gestured to Doofenshmirtz, who was still comically gaping from within the close —"before I could tell you how much I love you."

Isabella could scarcely believe her ears, still staring at him. "You… you love me?"

"Yeah." Phineas suddenly stiffened, pushing her away slightly. "I mean… If you don't… I, uh… I was just… I just thought…"

She cut off his awkward stammering with another forceful hug. "You have no idea how long I've wanted to hear that from you," she sighed, a tear of joy flowing from her eye.

She felt her cheek brush against something wet as she leaned her head on his shoulder, and lifted her head to see Phineas's cheek stained with blood from a gash from the side of his head. "Phineas! You're hurt!" she exclaimed. Then a feeling of dread washed over her. "Did I do that?"

"Well… yeah," said Phineas good-naturedly. "You threw me into the wall and I got pretty scratched up. Then you were about to toss me over the edge of the balcony to my death. Plus, you had done some pretty heavy damage to Ferb, too," he added, pointing to his brother. But Isabella didn't turn around to look at Ferb. She continued to stare in horror at Phineas's wound. She touched it gingerly. "Oh my gosh, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm so sorry—"

"Hey. Don't worry. It's alright," he said simply, putting a hand on her shoulder and smiling at her. "I don't blame you one bit."

She gave a weak grin back, her knees trembling. "Really?" she whispered.

"Yeah. You want proof?" he whispered back, leaning in a little.

"Uh…" said Isabella not very intelligently, her brain becoming scrambled by the proximity of Phineas.

Then Phineas leaned in more and kissed her again, and she lost complete control of her legs, but Phineas held her up with his arms around her. Her mind was a jumble of ecstasy and shock as she kissed him back. _This isn't Phineasland! Oh my god! He's REALLY kissing me!_

After a little while, Isabella gained control over her legs again, and the two broke apart. "Did that just really happen?" asked Isabella in joy and awe.

"It felt even better this time than before," replied Phineas.

"Before?!" exclaimed Isabella in shock.

"Yeah. I kissed you before. That was how I broke that spell over you," he said.

"So… the first kiss… it was all real?" she asked in a quavering voice, giving him a hopeful smile.

"It was all real," he replied with a smile as well. The two slid down against the balcony wall and sat on the floor, laughing, staring into each other's eyes, holding each other, saying little sweet love remarks. Everything else disappeared around them. They forgot about Doofenshmirtz, they forgot about the fight, they forgot about the machine, they forgot about everything that had happened since two minutes ago.

* * *

_They forgot about me,_ thought Ferb, watching the two. He had struggled to keep consciousness before, but as soon as he saw the two kiss, adrenaline surged through his veins, immediately reviving him. Then, when they kissed the second time, and collapsed on the floor together, laughing and cuddling, forgetting about the whole fight – _and me,_ he thought, enraged – a different thing coursed through his veins: fury.

The real last straw had come earlier, when he heard Phineas comment on how Isabella had really hurt Ferb too, and Isabella didn't even turn around, didn't even glance once at how injured he was. That was when he knew that it was impossible, that it would never be. Isabella loved, and always would love, his stepbrother, Phineas, and would never love anyone else.

Granted, he felt happy for the two. He knew this moment had been a long time in coming, and was glad to see them finally so happy. But along with the happiness, he felt other things: despair, hopelessness, rage that burned inside of him like a blazing fire.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Doofenshmirtz run towards the couple and the machine with a final part clutched in his hand, and with all of the bad emotions mixing inside him, something inside of him snapped again. Oblivious to the pain, Ferb leaped up and aimed the Molecular Separator at a section of the ceiling near the opening to the balcony, in hopes of sending down enough debris to block the evil man from his machine, and his brother and his new girlfriend. He shot a beam of light at the ceiling, and heard a great grinding, sparking noise. A whole lot more metal objects spewed down from the ceiling than he expected, and he knew he had hit something a lot bigger than just rafters and roof.

"MY PLATYPROLIFERATOR-INATOR!" screamed Doofenshmirtz in despair, clutching tufts of hair. Ferb continued to shoot beams at the small number of remaining platypus robots fighting the kids, and pretty soon, there was nothing but blue, broken metal scraps sparking with electricity. The kids cheered, and Buford roared, grabbed Baljeet, and gave him a victory noogie.

Doofenshmirtz turned to Ferb, glaring, a mad glint in his eye. "I've had ENOUGH of you! You're worse than Perry the Platypus!" He turned away and yelled, "NORM! Where are you, you big dummy?"

"Right here, dad," replied a robotic voice from another closet. The door opened to reveal a huge, metal person-like robot in a suit with a cheesy smile on his face.

"DON'T CALL ME YOUR FATHER!" Doof shouted, annoyed. "Now, GET THIS KID AND RID HIM ONCE AND FOR ALL! And afterwards, clear that mess of metal parts over there. It's blocking me from my greatest –Inator, and my taking over of the Tri-State Area!"

"Sure thing, dad," replied Norm, swinging his arms and whistling a jolly tune as he marched towards Ferb. Panicking, Ferb ran to the mountain of parts and, ignoring the pain throughout his whole body, started to climb it to get to the other side, desperate to live. He was dimly aware of the other kids behind him in disarray, scattering and screaming in fear.

As he tumbled over the other side into the side of the wall, smacking his back and winding him, Ferb heard Norm the robot says cheerfully, "Two birds with one stone!" as he quickly reduced the metal parts to nothing with his superhumanly strong robot hands. Ferb propped himself up and surveyed the dismal scene. As Ferb watched the pile diminish, he racked his brain for something, anything, to save himself from that huge metal crushing machine. But, again, nothing came to him. He watched helplessly as the path was cleared and he saw Doofenshmirtz and Norm's faces poking out, smiling at him, one evilly, one with joy.

"Now – FINISH HIM!" yelled Doofenshmirtz gleefully. Norm obeyed, marching towards Ferb, now that there was no blockade of metal stopping him. Ferb shut his eyes tight, bracing himself to be thrown off the balcony or crushed to a pulp.

That was when he heard the _ZAP! _followed by a loud _CRUNCH!_

He opened his eyes a tiny bit, and saw Norm had stopped and turned around, in apparent shock, if robots could feel shock. He leaned over to see what the fuss was all about – and promptly had the biggest shock of the entire day.

In front of him was Perry the Platypus. Only, he was standing upright in an epic landing position, and he had a helmet on and was carrying a bag of nuts and panel with a button on it, with hands with opposable thumbs. Around him, cracked pieces of glass and metal glinted on the floor.

"Perry the Platypus?!" everyone shouted in surprise.

**Yet another cliffhanger.. sorry guys. I like to keep you on your toes.**


	14. What you won't do for love

**AN: Sorry this is late. I'm one of those guys who likes to finish stuff he starts and not keep it waiting. The only reason I couldn't update soon enough was because it's getting busy at school because it's approaching Christmas break, you know, with tests and essays and stuff. So hope you guys forgive me, and enjoy this chapter! Sorry in advance if there is another late update.**

"Perry?" asked Phineas, confused. "What's going on?"

Perry responded by pointing two fingers at himself, and then at Phineas. "Stay focused?" mouthed Phineas.

As if on cue, Doofenshmirtz finally recovered from his initial shock. "Well, don't just stand there, you big dummy!" Doof yelled to Norm, shaking a finger at Perry. "GET HIM!"

"But sir, you said—"

"I don't care what I said! Just get Perry the Platypus!" shouted Doof, rushing over to the machine to add some last finishing parts to the device.

Ferb saw this, and tried to crawl towards Doofenshmirtz to stop him. But the adrenaline was gone, and his ankle and chest and head and everywhere hurt more than ever. Through the haze of pain, he glanced over at Phineas, who was still frozen at the sight of his beloved pet doing a lot more than he expected a platypus to do, and Isabella next to him, frozen at the same sight. He looked at his friends, who were still freaking out over the giant, super powerful robot. There was no one to stop the evil scientist from completing his mad plan.

"Perry the Platypus! How nice to see you again!" commented Norm, smashing his fist down as Perry nimbly leaped away, crushing the floor where he had been a second ago. "Would you like a hand?"

Perry leaped away and grabbed some macadamia nuts from his bag. He tossed them onto the floor in front of Norm.

"Macadamia nuts?" asked Norm, sounding even more amused. "What good will those do—"

That was when a squirrel jumped out of Norm's chest and started to nibble on the nuts. Perry expertly threw a trail of nuts leading out the door and down the stairs, and several seconds later, the squirrel was gone.

"Of course! I run on squirrel power, so without the squirrel, I can't get you! Well played, sir! I really need to find a solution for that," said Norm enthusiastically, before shutting down and hitting the floor, battery-dead.

"Remember when I said that this was just getting weirder and weirder?" Buford commented to Baljeet. They were both staring at the scene, mouths wide open in shock.

"Yes?"

"Well, it just got EVEN weirder."

"AHA! But you're ALL TOO LATE!" yelled Doofenshmirtz in triumph, stepping back from his machine. "For I have finally finished my De-volitionator Remix 3000…Inator! Soon, you will all be under my control!" He pushed a button, and a humming noise commenced. The top of the machine, an antennae, glowed bright green. Perry's eyes widened, and on impulse, he chucked the helmet with the self-destruct button tucked inside.

But not at the machine.

The helmet bounced next to Phineas, who was still in shock.

"Phineas! Put on the helmet!" cried Isabella, snapping out of her trance as she realized again what was going on.

"Perry… is a secret agent?" he mumbled, still staring at Perry in hurt and confusion.

"Oh for the love of…" said Isabella angrily. She took the helmet and jammed it on Phineas's head, and took his hand and wrapped his fingers around the panel with the button. She held his hand for a moment longer as the machine's humming continued to grow, and looked into his eyes for the last time.

"Phineas… I just want you to know… I love you too," she said softly. That jolted him out of his trance. "Wh-what…?" he started.

"I trust you," she interrupted simply.

Then the machine dinged, and a green light pulsated from the antennae, washing over everything and everyone.

Phineas felt some sort of shockwave bounce continuously off the padded metal helmet, like a never ending head massage.

When the light cleared, Phineas was still his normal self, albeit a little disoriented from the shockwaves incessantly hitting the helmet and bouncing off. But when he looked around, he saw that everyone around him had a green glow around them, and had blank expressions on their faces, save for Doofenshmirtz, who was now by the doorway. Chills went up his spine as he surveyed the dismal scene.

Phineas heard Doofenshmirtz cackle. "Now, my minions! We will take over the Tri-State Area! But first… I want you guys to do a couple errands. You," he said, pointing to Adyson, who was closest to him, "make me some kreplach or something. You know, Middle Eastern comfort food. Man, I love kreplach. Ate it since I was a baby, even though I'm from Europe… And you… you go wash my laundry…"

Phineas leaned back slightly, shifting his weight onto his hands. That was when he noticed the panel in his hand. He quickly read the label: "Universal Self-Destruct Button." He scanned the area around the machine and found some loose wires, scrap metal parts, screws and bolts, a wrench and screwdriver, and a blowtorch lying around.

_Perfect,_ he thought. _Let's go, go, go, Phineas!_

But he couldn't get up. Fear, shock and adrenaline shot through him, freezing him up. He wanted to move, but he couldn't.

_C'mon! Get a move on! You're the only one who can stop this madness!_ his brain screamed at him.

_I can't! I can't do it!_ he responded back desperately.

_Look over at Isabella, _his brain commanded. _Look at her. Do you want her to be stuck like that? Do you want your future with her to disappear, just like that? Are you going to let that happen?_

Phineas glanced at Isabella and almost cried out. She was back to her weird, mind-controlled state again, her body glowing green again, her eyes blank, the spark of joy and hope gone. He felt his blood boil, and he gained control over his body again. _This is not how it's going to end. I will stop him, for you,_ he thought. He contemplated kissing her again, but he knew it wouldn't snap her out of it. He could feel the shockwaves controlling everyone around him pulsating, continually banging at his helmet, so he dismissed the idea. Without making a sound, he slowly got up and shifted towards the machine. But before he took more than a couple steps, he leaned back and gave Isabella a kiss on the cheek. _Just in case this doesn't work,_ he thought ominously to himself.

He reached the machine without Doof noticing him. Doof had proceeded to give most of the kids there obscure errands he wanted done, and was starting to reach the kids in the balcony, closer to Phineas.

"And you… whatever your name is. Ferb, I think. What is that even short for, anyway? It has to be short for something. You couldn't have been named Ferb," said Doof, starting to monologue again. "That's like being named Dan. You're never _actually _named Dan. You're always named something like Daniel or Danielle or Jeffrey or something and Dan is a nickname. Ferb, Ferb, Ferb… Maybe it's short for like Ferbius? No, that's just ridiculous. I am literally just blathering here," Doof noticed, and gave a short laugh of embarrassment. "Oh well. Ferb. You… start cleaning up the tools around the machine. I like to keep my place nice and neat."

During this long spiel, Phineas had frantically been attaching the self-destruct button to the base of the machine. The wires were connected and the metal parts were fused together. He just needed to finish the timer, so that he could activate the self-destruct button from a distance, when Phineas heard Doof address him.

"And you! The smart kid. Phineas!" Doof pointed at Phineas, who promptly froze on the spot. "Go fix my door. I think that Ferb kid ripped it off its hinges. Make it better though! Make it like one of those slide panel thingies like at the supermarket. Or… ooh! Ooh! Make a revolving door! I love those! Get to it, kid!" he ordered. Phineas ignored him and stayed crouched over the machine, desperately trying to finish building.

"HEY! I said, _fix my door!_" yelled Doof. He stomped over to Phineas. "What are you even doing over there?" Doof's eyes widened as he reached Phineas. "Hey, wait a moment. Stop that! I command you to stop that!" he yelled, now running (or trying to run – Doof was not a very good runner) to Phineas.

Phineas continued to fuse together the last parts of the timer. All he needed to do was solder the wires to the timer…

Then he felt a cold metal ring press to the back of his neck.

"Turn around," commanded Doof. Phineas finally obeyed, and stared cross-eyed into a barrel of a gun-like device pointed at the bridge of his nose, about five feet away.

"So, the machine didn't work for you, huh? And you thought you could foil my evil plan?" cackled Doof, still pointing the device at Phineas's head. "Well. I think it's time to put that to a stop, shall we? Oh, don't worry. This isn't a real gun," said Doof, noticing how concentrated Phineas was on the barrel of the device. "It's a Disintievaporinator, so I guess it serves the same purpose. Less messy, though.

"Now, before I disintievaporate you, I want you to take out that self-destruct button," Doof drawled. Phineas glared at him, his mouth unable to manage any sound. His message was clear: _No._

"No? You're forgetting what I can do, with all these people under my control," grinned Doof. "Maybe you'd like to reconsider your stubbornness before, oh, I don't know, I _accidentally_ tell your dear, dear friend Isabella to jump off this balcony," he sneered. Panic surged through Phineas, and he found his voice again.

"No. Please don't," he begged, his voice cracking with fear. He dared for a moment to take his eyes off the device at his head and look over at Isabella, who was sitting in the same place by the corner of the railing of the balcony, staring off into space.

"_Oh, Isabellaaa, dear,"_ said Doof in a sing-song voice. "Would you mind—"

"OKAY! OKAY!" cried Phineas. "I'LL TAKE IT OUT! Just don't hurt her!"

"Very good," cackled Doof. He backed away a little to the side, nearer to the doorway, so that he could see exactly was Phineas was doing, still keeping the device pointed at Phineas.

Phineas turned back to the machine and stared at the button. He sighed in defeat. There was no way he was going to ever take out the button – not when it was their one chance of defeating the evil scientist. But there was no way he was going to let Isabella get hurt either. There was no way Doof would let him get away and escape, not if he wasn't bluffing about that "disintievaporating" machine. Which meant he would have to press the button himself.

Phineas had been hoping to set in some kind of timing device, so that he wouldn't be near the machine when it blew up, because he knew what would happen if he was close to it. In the worst case scenario, he would be blown to smithereens. In the best case, he would be thrown against the wall by the sheer force of the explosion, along with everyone else. Either way, it would be painful.

_Not as painful as letting this guy win,_ he thought, determined. _Or seeing Isabella hurt – or dead._

"C'mon, Brain Boy! Get to work!" yelled Doof, still pointing the device at Phineas.

Despite the life-or-death situation, Phineas had to grin at Buford's nickname for Baljeet being used for him. The grin quickly fell off his face as he inhaled deeply, bracing himself for what he was going to do.

Then he leaned in and, to Doof's great surprise, pushed the button.

**Let's hope the worst case scenario doesn't happen. Because that would just suck, for Phineas and for us.**


	15. Cliffhangers

**For all you guys out there, screaming for Ferbnessa - do not fear, Vanessa is here. I support Ferbnessa too.**

"Hey Dad, I'm home from my motorcycle driving lesson—" said Vanessa, walking into her dad's apartment, a hand on her helmet about to take it off. She didn't find the absence of a door surprising at all, and presumed that her dad was fighting Perry the Platypus or something. But at her first glance at the scene, she stopped short.

The floor was cracked and riddled with metal and rubble. The ceiling had multiple holes and beams, sheets and wires were hanging down, sending sparks skittering across the floor. Vanessa's stomach turned when she saw smears of blood in several places. She saw a bunch of Fireside Girls, some boys, and Perry the Platypus moving around her, ignoring the destruction on the floor, making assorted foods, hanging up laundry, dusting shelves.

Her eyes slowly lifted, and she saw far away on the balcony a machine that periodically radiated weird green rings of light, and she noticed the way they tangibly bounced off her helmet. She had noticed that constant invisible pounding on her helmet since a few minutes ago, as she was climbing up the stairs to the apartment. She saw another young boy with a… triangular head? He was facing the machine, and standing near a familiar face: Ferb. He was picking up tools from the floor. Next to him, she saw the triangular-headed boy inhale deeply, and press a button on the machine.

Instantly, the machine exploded. The force sent even Vanessa, who was standing a fair distance away, staggering back in shock. The force threw many of the kids doing chores rolling, because they were nearer to the machine. But Vanessa didn't care about them at the moment, because when the machine exploded, Ferb was standing close enough to the edge of the balcony that he was thrown over!

"FERB!" she screamed. She scanned the room desperately, and her eyes raked over a mini-sized jetpack, resting against one of the piles of debris after being thrown by the force like everything else. It looked as though it was tailored for something smaller than a human… _Probably Perry's,_ she thought, quickly running to it and grabbing it. But she didn't care whose it was, as long as it started. As she rushed to the balcony edge, she frantically jabbed at the "Start" button, and in a small spark of relief, she heard the engine on it start.

"Oh, hi, Vanessa, honey—" she heard her father start as she ran past him on the balcony, hastily throwing on the jetpack, which was a little small but still fit. Then she leaped off the edge and rocketed downwards to return the favor to the boy who had helped and saved her in the mall so long ago.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooo oooooooooooooooooooooooooooo oooooooooo

Through the green haze, Ferb was dimly aware of what was happening. He was picking up tools, whistling as he did so. He paid no attention to Phineas, or the machine. All he was focused on, could think about, was picking up tools.

Then he felt as though an invisible giant slapped him with the back of its hand. He shook his head to clear away the pain, and miraculously, the green haze disappeared as well. His thoughts, control over his bodily functions, memories, and feelings all rushed back.

The next thing he realized was that he was hurtling through the air, seconds away from being smashed onto the asphalt like a pancake. A Ferb-cake.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooo oooooooooooooooooooooooooooo oooooooooo

_At least I didn't get blown to smithereens,_ thought Phineas drily.

He was hanging over the edge of the balcony by his fingertips. He tried in vain to pull himself up, but the force of the explosion had winded him, and his arms hurt too much to exert that much energy. He knew he needed help to get over the edge, to survive.

Then he saw Doof's face appear over the side, shining with malice, and his heart leaped into his throat.

"So, this is a real cliffhanger, isn't it?" Doof grinned.

"ISABELLA! FERB! BUFORD! ANYONE! HELP!" Phineas cried, ignoring him. He clung to the edge harder than ever.

"Quiet, you! You may have destroyed my –Inator, boy," he whispered. "You may have destroyed my home, and my one last good chance to take over the Tri-State Area. But now, you can do no more. And this time, I will destroy you," he finished, raising a fist to smash onto Phineas's bruised fingers to send him plummeting to his doom. Phineas clenched his eyes shut. _Isabella, I'm sorry,_ he mourned silently. He waited for the final blow to come.

It never did.

"What is that awful noise?" commented Doof after a pause, causing Phineas's eyes to snap open. "It's like a cross between a beheaded chicken and a donkey. Although, I guess a beheaded chicken couldn't really make any good noises, because it's sort of… beheaded, already." Doof scratched his head, and Phineas could also make out the distinct screaming in the air. It sounded like…

"Candace?" he wondered out loud.

The screaming rapidly increased in volume.

"Where the heck is that coming from—" started Doof.

Then Candace, wearing a jetpack and helmet, flew out from under the balcony of the building, screaming for dear life, and crashed into Doof.

Candace and Doof were flung to the other side of the balcony, where Doof hit his back on the balcony railing, the momentum causing him to tumble over the side. He yelled, "Curse you, Perry the Platypus and your owners and friends and that weird screaming girl!" as he plunged into space.

Candace, meanwhile, had luckily lost her jetpack when she hit the unsuspecting Doof. She rolled to the other side of the balcony, groaning in pain.

"Phineas and Ferb, you guys are soooo busted," she managed, gasping.

"I promise you can do whatever you want, as long as you save me," shouted Phineas desperately, feeling his fingers get tired, his grip on the railing loosening.

"What?" said Candace, looking around quickly. Then she noticed the fingers holding on the edge of the balcony. "Phineas? Is that you?!" she said, sounding scared.

"Yes, yes it is," remarked Phineas drily.

"Oh my god," breathed Candace. She rushed to the edge, and with their combined strength, Phineas managed to somersault ungracefully over the edge and onto solid ground.

"Thank you," he breathed, still hugging the floor.

"I'm just glad you're okay—" Candace started, when she was interrupted by Phineas's outcry. "Isabella! Isabella, are you alright?" He swiveled his head, looking for her.

"I think the real question is, are _you_ alright?" Isabella said as she slowly limped over to Phineas. She had turned her ankle with the force of the explosion of the machine, but otherwise looked okay.

"As long as you are," Phineas said simply, smiling up into her face. She half-heartedly returned the smile, happiness and guilt gushing in her chest. Here he was, having just faced imminent death, beaten, bruised, and the first thing he cared about was if she was okay.

"You almost died," she replied simply.

"It was worth it for you," he said. She smiled for real this time, and leaned over him and kissed him. She held him in her arms.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa," said Candace, who was watching this scene with wide eyes. "You guys are… I mean, since when were you…?" she stammered, unable to finish her sentence. Then it occurred to her that it might be best to give them some privacy. She got up to walk away, when she noticed the absence of someone she thought was inseparable from his step-brother.

"Where's Ferb?" she asked, a note of confusion in her voice.

Isabella swiftly looked up at Candace. "What do you mean, where's Ferb?" she asked.

Phineas, meanwhile, did a quick 360 of the area, and saw no silent green-haired stepbrother. "Where's Ferb?" he repeated, fear growing inside of him, threatening to spill over.

**Where's Ferb? What happened to Doof? What will the brothers make of Perry? How will Candace respond to the new relationship between her brother and her friend? Find it all out on the next set of... "Where does it all go?"!**

**..now that I think about it, it's sort of a lame title. Any thoughts, guys?**


	16. Whoa, deja vu-ish

**As much as I love playing up Ferb as a character for people to feel empathy for, with his lack of attention, speaking lines, and unsatisfactory relationship with Isabella, I do support Ferbnessa, and I enjoyed writing this chapter.**

Oddly enough, even though this was probably his third near-death experience that day, Ferb had never felt so frightened than at that moment, when he was hurtling through the air. He kept doing somersaults midair, throwing off any sense of direction and making him want to puke. Scenes from his fun, albeit short, life flashed in his vision – all of his friends and family, some of the cooler inventions he had built with Phineas, Isabella. All of that was to be put to an end.

All of a sudden, he felt a strong, abrupt jerk on his leg, almost popping it out of its socket. Thankfully, it was the uninjured one, so he didn't pass out in pain. He managed to open his eyes, and saw that miraculously, he wasn't falling at terminal velocity anymore. Instead, he was flying upside-down over the streets around downtown Danville at a dizzying pace.

_Look on the bright side,_ Ferb thought to himself drily. _No Ferb-cake._

He tilted his head up to get a good look at his savior, and saw that it was none other than Vanessa Doofenshmirtz.

"Vanessa?" he greeted her, the shock prominent in his voice.

"Hey Ferb," she grunted, casual as if she had met him at the mall by chance. "Gimme a hand, will ya?"

With difficulty, he contracted his abdomen and reached up, the wind rushing past him making it all the more difficult. Vanessa let go of Ferb's ankle with one hand and grabbed his hand, sending a tingle up his spine. Then she grabbed his other hand.

Ferb's mind, to his surprise and mild consternation, was racing. _Stop it,_ he ordered himself. _Why are you feeling this way? You like Isabella, and you were seconds away from dying. You should not be feeling this way, especially towards Vanessa._ But he couldn't help it. All feelings of grief and fear were wiped from his mind, and all thoughts of Isabella were wiped from his heart. He couldn't help but focus on where his hands came in contact with Vanessa's, how intertwined they were. He couldn't help it.

Vanessa, meanwhile, had circled around a couple blocks of downtown, and gradually slowed the engine to lower herself and Ferb onto the pavement of the street behind the building that Doofenshmirtz lived it.

"Why did you come and save me?" was Ferb's first question after they landed.

"Well, you fell over the edge of the building. Of course I had to save you," replied Vanessa quickly, dusting her pants off.

"But your dad… He was there. He was about to finish his –Inator thing or evil plan or whatever. Why didn't you help him?" pressed Ferb. He had never felt the urge to talk so much before, but it was all just naturally coming out now, in a desperate urge to know.

Vanessa shook off the jetpack, and Ferb noticed that she was blushing. "Oh, you know. The whole 'heroism in the moment' thing—"

"Phineas fell over the edge too," noted Ferb quietly, looking intently at her. "Surely you must have noticed—"

"Well, Phineas isn't you, is he?!" Vanessa burst out, then covered her mouth quickly.

"I'm sorry, Ferb. It's just… well, what happened was I entered the apartment the moment the machine exploded. And I saw you go over… and, well, that was more important than anything else there," she finished quietly, staring at the ground. "That's why. There. Happy?"

"Really?" Ferb asked, a glow starting to fuzz in his chest. He had never felt that before, and he'd never heard from someone that in their eyes, he was the most important. "Yes. Yes I am."

"What?" asked Vanessa, looking up in surprise.

"Yes, I am happy," he replied. They shared a smile. Then, he turned and started to limp for the front entrance of the building, when he felt a hand on his shoulder.

"Wait a sec. You're not seriously thinking of going back up there," she said, her voice rising. "I've got to get you to the hospital! You're seriously injured. Your ankle, and your head, and your—" She faltered under Ferb's determined gaze.

"I have to," he replied simply. "All the other kids are still up there, and my brother Phineas is too, and Isabella," he said. But this time, when he said Isabella's name, the usual unstoppable pang of jealousy that accompanied it wasn't there. He looked into Vanessa's blue eyes, willing her to understand.

She sighed. "You're really not one to give up, aren't you?" she said resignedly, letting go of his shoulder.

"No, no I'm not," he responded, then under his breath he added, "Except to maybe give up on someone."

"What?"

"Nothing," he quickly covered it up.

"Alright." Vanessa clicked the jetpack on. It roared to life, then spluttered out. "Oh great. The power's out," she complained. "Now how'll you get up?"

Ferb motioned to building's interior.

"The stairs? Are you crazy?" Ferb shook his head. "Are you sure you'll be alright?" she asked, still concerned for his well-being. He nodded. "Okay then…" said Vanessa, still unsure. On instinct, she checked her watch. "Oh, shoot, I gotta run. My friend and I are meeting at her house for dinner and then we're catching a movie. Are you absolutely suremmm—!" she started for the third time, when Ferb silenced her again, but this time, with a kiss. Then he dashed off inside as fast as he could, adrenaline suddenly pumping through his veins.

_Did you just kiss her?! _he berated himself furiously. _You really _are _crazy. What in blazes were you thinking?_

_It came naturally,_ said another part of himself. _And usually, the way that seems natural is the right way._

_I just hope Vanessa doesn't hate me afterwards,_ he worried. _I am much younger than she is and she probably found it a little repulsive, what I just did. _

_Just focus on the task at hand, Ferb. Make sure the gang is okay._

He reached the stairwell and started climbing up the stairs, trying push thoughts of Vanessa out of his mind.

Vanessa, meanwhile, stayed frozen for another moment. Then a smile started to spread on her face as well. She ran in the building, hoping against hope she hadn't recovered too slowly. She stuck her head in the stairwell and yelled as loud as she could, "FERB!"

Ferb slowly, almost sheepishly, limped down the flight of stairs he had just gone up, in an attempt to escape Vanessa.

"So, uh.… what are you doing tomorrow?" she asked tentatively. A huge grin slowly appeared on Ferb's face.

"My schedule's free," he said nonchalantly, even though he knew he and Phineas would be building another fantastical device. He quickly pushed that thought out of his head.

"The park, and then we can grab some lunch?"

"Eleven in the morning?"

"Sounds good. I'll see you there." Vanessa turned and ran outside, but not before looking back once more and giving Ferb a smile and a thumbs-up.

Ferb felt new energy and purpose steep his whole body. He leaped the stairs, two at a time, with renewed strength.

**More to come (relatively) soon!**


	17. The disappearing platypus

**Sorry for the not-so-timely updates. I try to do one daily, but time just slips by and I forget and... ah, whatever. Hope you guys like it!**

Doof tumbled through the air, yelling curses at everyone.

"CURSE YOU, PERRY THE PLATYPUS AGAIN AND HIS OWNERS AGAIN AND THOSE DARN FIRESIDE GIRLS AGAIN AND THAT WEIRD SCREAMING GIRL AGAIN—" he managed, before crashing against something soft.

He sat up and patted the mattress he had just landed on. "Huh! How serendipitous," he remarked. He patted the mattress some more and started to smile. "Hey, this is pretty nice. I might take this mattress for myself—"

Then the mattress snapped in half, crushing him between the thick, soft material.

"CURSE YOU, FOLD-UP MATTRESS!" he yelled, his fist protruding from in between the mattresses, shaking in rage.

* * *

"Baljeet! Baljeet, get up!" Buford yelled, leaning over Baljeet and shaking him vigorously by the shoulders.

"Ughh… the last thing I want to do is get up," complained Baljeet, his eyes still closed.

"I'll get you a new graphing calculator," said Buford.

"Did someone say _calculator?"_ exclaimed Baljeet, leaping to his feet. Buford cackled. "He's okay," he muttered to himself, content. He grabbed Baljeet in a headlock. "I was kidding, nerd. I'm not actually going to get you a calculator."

"Oh…" sighed Baljeet in disappointment. Buford laughed. "Exotic dragonfruit smoothies for everyone on me when we get outta this mess, though. Sounds good?" asked Buford.

"Could be worse," mused Baljeet.

All around, the rest of the Fireside Girls were slowly recovering from having their minds taken away and given back, and the shockwave of the –Inator's explosion.

"Ugh, my head hurts," moaned Ginger, sitting up.

"Yeah, me too," said Gretchen, dusting herself off.

"Why am I covered in kreplach?" asked a confused Adyson, brushing bits of dough out of her hair.

"Hey guys," they all heard a voice from the balcony call. They turned and saw Phineas, Isabella, and Candace striding towards them. Phineas was staring into space, and Isabella was holding Phineas's hand and looked as though she was forcibly pulling him. "We should probably get out of here," continued Isabella.

"How'd you get here?" asked Holly, gesturing to Candace.

"Well, there was this whole thing with a jetpack where I almost died, and then I crashed into that weird guy, and now I'm gonna bust my brothers," summarized Candace.

"Pretty much sums it up," Isabella agreed, still holding Phineas's hand.

"Remember, when after Doofenshmirtz fell from the ceiling, you said 'What's next? Candace flying in on a jetpack?'" Baljeet nudged Buford.

"Yeah. I can't believe that I called that. By the way, what's wrong with Dinner Bell?" grunted Buford.

"The real question is, what's wrong with Perry? Why didn't he tell me he was a secret agent?" Phineas murmured.

"I must admit, it was quite shocking to see Perry wearing a hat," commented Baljeet.

"Where'd he go?" asked Katie, looking around. They all looked for Perry, but there was no platypus to be seen.

"And where's Ferb?" asked Gretchen, looking a little scared.

That snapped Phineas out of his trance. "That's why we need to get out of here and get to the ground floor," he answered, a determined gaze on his face. "I haven't seen him since after the machine exploded, which probably means…" he faltered. He didn't want to say it. Everyone became silent, brooding on the possibility that Ferb might be…

"I mean, it's…it's possible he's still alive," Phineas finished lamely.

"After falling thirty-five floors?" asked Adyson, doubtful.

"Technically speaking, I only fell thirty-four," said a voice from outside the doorway. The kids turned as one towards the door, and in walked none other than Ferb Fletcher.

"Someone with a jetpack caught me before I could fall another floor and hit the ground," he chuckled.

"FERB!" they all cheered, and mobbed him in a group hug. After a couple moments of joyful reunion, they separated, talking and laughing about how scared they were and how great it was to see him. Ferb never looked happier.

"Man, I'm so glad you're alive," said Phineas, continuing to grasp Ferb squarely on the shoulders and beam at him.

"So am I," Ferb laughed.

"But seriously, I wouldn't know what to do without you," continued Phineas, becoming serious. "I—is…is that lipstick on your mouth? Why do you have—"

"It's nothing," Ferb interrupted hurriedly, wiping his mouth with his wrist. "Carry on."

"As I was saying… I wouldn't know what to do without you. You're the most important guy in the world to me, and the best brother in the world," Phineas finished. "I missed ya, bro."

Ferb felt as though the fuzzy glow inside his chest would burst into a supernova. "Right back atcha," he replied, grinning, and the two brothers hugged.

After a moment, Phineas spoke again. "You wouldn't happen to know where Perry is, right?" he asked. "Because he turned all secret-agent-y and stuff… and both you guys disappeared… did he fall off the edge with you?"

Ferb shook his head doubtfully. The atmosphere immediately turned solemn again. "C'mon, let's go home," ventured Candace after some silence.

"Yeah. After we find Perry, I'm thinkin' smoothies. Man, Buford hungry," Buford rambled as they hastily walked down the stairs. "You gotta eat a lot to stay buff like me, you know what I mean?"

"Not helping, Buford," remarked Isabella, who had returned to holding Phineas's hand.

**Where's Perry (again)?**


	18. A little distraction

**Because we can always use a little more Phinbella in our lives. Whew I am really not that good at writing lovey gushy stuff. This was pretty taxing. Reviews/advice is (are?) appreciated.**

The sun was starting to set as the gang reconvened at the Park after spending an hour or so looking for Perry all over Danville. He was nowhere to be found.

"Guys, I gotta get home," rumbled Buford, clutching his stomach. "I'm actually starting to have a withdrawal from lack of food."

"Yeah, me too," said Baljeet. "I mean, about the getting home part. Not the food part."

The Fireside Girls chirped their agreement.

"Okay, guys," said Phineas absent-mindedly. "Thanks for helping."

Isabella and Ferb exchanged a glance as everyone left for their homes. "Phineas?" started Ferb quietly. "I think it's time we go home too."

"Yeah. I mean, I'll keep searching as long as you will, but I agree with Ferb," added Isabella.

In response, Phineas slumped on the bench. "I still don't understand," he murmured to himself. "What was that all about? Why didn't he tell us about his whole secret agent life?"

After a moment of silence, Ferb spoke. "Perhaps we might have blown his cover, had we known," he said carefully.

"So he never trusted us?" Phineas countered, his voice strained with hurt and anger. "Is that what you're saying?"

"Of course he's not saying anything like that!" Isabella quickly interjected, standing between the two brothers. "He's just trying to put some ideas out to help!"

Phineas glared at Ferb and Isabella. "Yeah, go ahead. Side with him," Phineas almost spat. "I'm just overreacting, just going crazy. _You two_ might not think it too surprising that our pet platypus leads an undercover life, but _I_ do. Does that mean all this time, whenever he disappears…?" he stared off angrily into space again.

Isabella and Ferb exchanged another glance, and with a sigh, Isabella sat next to him on the bench. She patted his hand apologetically. "I'm sorry," she said softly.

Phineas sighed. "No, I'm sorry," he said, his voice suddenly tired, his face, his body – everything about him looked tired. "It's not fair for me to say stuff like that. I know you're just trying to help."

He sighed again and looked around. "But just think about it… all this time, Perry's been tricking us? All we ever were to him was a cover story, so that he could go on his little secret agent missions or whatever. And after a day of so many surprises," he said, looking pointedly and half-smiling at Isabella, who blushed, "I never thought I would ever be more shocked. But I am shocked. And hurt." He looked as if he wanted to say something more, but he stopped. The pair watched the sun for a few moments, the silence of the empty park enveloping them.

"Do you wish this day never happened?" asked Isabella softly, breaking the silence.

"You know, I was just about to say almost that," said Phineas, not looking at Isabella. "But to be quite honest, being here with you, alone, knowing that we're something more than just normal friends, completely outweighs the fact that Perry was betraying us all this time." And Phineas meant it. Even through his hurt and resentment to his beloved pet, he felt a strange sort of contentment and peace – like something in his life that had always been missing was finally there, and realized that it was because he was here with Isabella. Neither of them noticed that Ferb had disappeared.

"More than friends? So does that mean…" started Isabella, starting to get excited.

"Mean what?" asked Phineas nonchalantly, gazing at the multi-colored clouds.

"Does that mean we're… boyfriend and girlfriend?" asked Isabella hesitantly, a little disappointed.

"Well, yeah, I guess so," replied Phineas, still looking at the sunset.

Isabella didn't respond. She sat, arms folded, her disappointment gnawing away at her stomach. She tried not to show it on her face, but Phineas glanced over and saw that something wasn't quite right. "What's wrong?" he asked.

"Nothing," Isabella replied, hoping against hope that Phineas wasn't oblivious enough to really think that nothing was wrong.

"Okay," said Phineas, returning to look at the landscape. Isabella glanced at him, a little annoyed, but said nothing. After a moment, though, Phineas slapped himself in the forehead. "I'm being oblivious again, aren't I," he said. It wasn't a question.

"Yes, yes you are," replied Isabella, glad that Phineas was getting starting to at least notice his obliviousness.

"So what's really wrong?"

"It's nothing really…" Phineas stared at her. "It's just that the part where two people officially become boyfriend and girlfriend usually is a little more…"

"Meaningful?" asked Phineas, looking thoughtful.

"Yeah," she agreed. They sat, not looking at each other, watching the sunset for the millionth time. Then, Isabella felt a gentle tug at her arm. She turned and almost fainted when Phineas suddenly pulled her in for another kiss.

_I really need to work on getting used to this,_ she thought drily to herself. But deep down, she knew she never would. She didn't think it was possible, but each time they kissed was greater, better than the last. She had never felt so happy.

When they finally separated, Phineas continued to hold her close, their noses touching. Isabella briefly flashed back to when Phineas had transported next to her and their noses touched then. But this was a totally different circumstance.

"Isabella Garcia-Shapiro, will you be my girlfriend?" whispered Phineas, staring into her eyes.

"YES!" she squealed so loudly that Phineas instinctively flinched back a little. "I mean, yeah, sure, of course I will!" she added a little less loudly, but just as excited. Phineas grinned and kissed her again, and no matter how hard she tried, it still felt as though her legs had dissolved into jelly and her brain had melted, she felt so good.

After they separated again, Phineas asked with a chuckle, "So. How was that?"

"That's the basic idea," replied Isabella jokingly. They laughed.

"We should probably get home," said Phineas, after a moment of just hugging each other.

"Yeah. Hey, doesn't Perry always come back after he goes off? Maybe you can somehow find out what's going on if he's home by now," said Isabella.

"Hm… yeah, that could work!" said Phineas excitedly. He stood up and looked as though he was ready to dash off home. But after a moment's reconsideration, he looked back at Isabella, and offered his hand to her. She took it gratefully, and he helped her up, supporting her weight by hanging her arm over his shoulders and holding her up with his own arm. After a little practice (and some slip-ups), the two were finally able to walk together. They paced to their neighborhood as fast as they could, but Phineas wasn't thinking about Perry. He was too busy talking to Isabella and laughing with her, and trying to support her weight while moving as fast as he could.

_Maybe Phineas _is _getting a little better,_ though Isabella happily as they raced home.

**And again... I'm sorry that this was a later update than usual. The week before break, finals... you guys all know what I'm talking about. More to come soon though! Stay tuned.**


	19. Promises unkempt

**Just gonna say.. I sorta really like this chapter.**

As soon as he had exchanged the glance with Isabella, Ferb had decided to go home. He figured, earlier than Phineas or Isabella, that Perry had always turned up back home at the end of the day, so he would be able to confront him then and get to the bottom of the whole mess. Because truthfully, Ferb was just as surprised and shocked as Phineas was about finding out about Perry leading a double life. He just didn't like to show his emotions as much as Phineas did.

He also decided to split because he sensed that Phineas and Isabella had a couple more things to sort out among themselves. His suspicions were confirmed as he overhead Phineas and Isabella's sweet conversation as he walked away from the park, and he couldn't help but smile as he limped along the sidewalk, clutching his side as he slowly made his way home.

* * *

"I'm home," yelled Ferb as he sidled into the house.

"Okay. Dinner will be ready in twenty," his mom called back. Ferb looked around for Perry as he walked through the living room, study, and hallway, but no blue platypus was to be seen. He shrugged, went into his room and collapsed onto his bed with a sigh. A crinkling noise told him that he was lying on some paper product, so he lazily rolled over and pawed at the space on his bed he was lying on before. His fingers grasped something that felt like a brochure, so with a great deal of effort, Ferb sat up and tried to read the pamphlet. It had an odd letterhead that said "O.W.C.A." in gold letters.

_"Sir, you've discovered your pet is a secret agent…"_ A different pain, a splitting headache that lasted but a moment, hit Ferb as he read the first words. Déjà vu washed over him like a wave. Where had he heard that before? _This note must be from Perry, _he thought. _Maybe the memory'll come to me if I read on._ He scanned the brochure.

_"Sir, you've discovered your pet is a secret agent of the Tri-State-Area sect of the Organization Without a Cool Acronym (O.W.C.A.), a governmentally-funded organization created to protect and maintain the peace in your city from the forces of evil. We regret to inform you that because of this newfound knowledge, your pet must be forced to be relocated to live with a different host family, in order to ensure you and your pet's safety. Please see the inside for more details."_ Ferb opened the brochure up. There were sections titled "About Us," "Your Pet's Perspective," and "How to Cope," among others. Ferb kept looking through it until he found the paragraph he wanted – the one titled "Alternative Solutions."

_"If you have read this pamphlet and still perceive the notion of your beloved pet leaving you forever as difficult to manage, alternative, albeit problematic, solutions exist. The O.W.C.A. has vastly superior technology—"_ Here Ferb snorted at the irony of the statement—_"that may help you and your family solve your dilemma._

_One such solution is to order a lifelike robotic model of your pet. Our supercomputers will analyze your pet's image and personality and create a doppelganger to ease into your period of relapse."_

Ferb shuddered at the thought of seeing another robotic Perry and continued reading.

_"If the idea of a robotic twin of your pet seems disheartening or alarming to you, we also have a wide range of short-term amnesia-inducing devices that can be used on you and anyone else who retains the knowledge that your pet is a secret agent. This will erase any memory or knowledge of yours that could blow your pet's cover, thus making it safe for your pet to live with you again."_

_That could work,_ mused Ferb to himself, still staring at the pamphlet. _We could build an amnesia-inducing thing and get rid of our memories of this afternoon._

He looked up from the pamphlet.

Ferb knew that he had told himself multiple times that day that nothing would ever shock him again. But when he saw Perry in a fedora standing on two feet at the foot of his bed, grasping a small handheld machine that looked like a gun, he literally froze in shock. Nothing – and he knew, nothing – would _ever_ have prepared him for the scene that had just unfolded in front of his eyes.

Because the barrel of the gun was pointed straight at Ferb.

* * *

Phineas and Isabella had reached Isabella's house. Phineas, to Isabella's amazement and pleasure, had offered to walk her home to her house, like a real gentleman. She felt that everything he did was so romantic. _Even if our houses are only across the street from each other, _she said, smiling to herself.

They were now standing on the porch, and Phineas seemed to have a hard time in letting Isabella's hand go. "So… I'll see you tomorrow?" he ventured.

"Of course," Isabella laughed. "I come over every day anyway."

"'Cause you know, I have a surprise planned for you," Phineas hinted, his eyes gleaming.

"Really? What is it?!" asked Isabella excitedly. She still couldn't believe how everything was unfolding. It really was a dream come true. First Phineas had kissed her, then she became his girlfriend, and then he was planning surprises for her…

"Well if I told you, it wouldn't be a surprise," replied Phineas, grinning.

Isabella threw up her hands in mock resignation. "Fine," she huffed, pretending to be miffed, the wide smile on her face letting Phineas know she wasn't actually angry. She turned to go inside.

"And, just a note: don't eat breakfast. How'd you like to have some crepes? Real, authentic ones?" Phineas let slip, his grin growing wider. Isabella turned around. "What do you mean, real authentic…" She stared at him, realization dawning on her. "Phineas, do you mean… I-I mean, are you saying that…" she faltered. _Is he really taking me to Paris again, because he feels bad about last time and wants to make up for it? _she thought hopefully. She didn't want to say it, fearing that it would be untrue.

In response, Phineas just gave her a smile. "_Au revoir,"_ he said softly, and turned to go to his own home, and Isabella's suspicions were confirmed. She ran inside, forgetting all about her injured ankle, literally jumping up and down and squealing with joy. "Mom, I'm home," she called, and raced up to her room. She flopped onto her bed, pulled out a framed picture of Phineas and herself, and hugged it tight to her chest, tears of happiness running down her cheeks. She half expected some weird cosmic thing to make everything that just happened disappear, or make Phineas forget about what happened and have everything just go back to normal, it felt so much like a dream. But as each second passed, it grew realer and surer, and she couldn't help but start crying in joy.

* * *

"Perry, don't do this," pleaded Ferb. "I promise we won't blow your cover!"

Ferb thought he saw Perry's shoulders slump a little, as though he had feelings too and wasn't carrying out his actions on his own accord.

"Please, don't kill me," begged Ferb, not caring that he was speaking so much. "I don't want to die."

Perry looked at him quizzically, then glanced at the gun and shook his head. Ferb blinked.

"Did you just shake your head?" he asked incredulously.

Perry nodded.

"And now you just nodded… wow. This is weird. But anyway… don't shoot me! Please! I—"

Perry interrupted him with an annoyed chatter, gesturing to the gun.

"It's not a real gun? Then what is it?"

Perry pointed to his head, and Ferb realized what was going on.

"Ohh…" He sat back a little in relief. "It's an amnesia-inducing device."

Perry nodded again.

"You're going to hit everyone with it? Erase the memory of everyone involved in today's encounter with your enemy? That wacko, Dooflensmitt or whatever?"

Perry nodded. Ferb thought he detected a trace of a smile on his face.

"How far back will it erase my memory? Just today?"

Perry nodded again and chattered happily, satisfied his owner knew he wasn't going to hurt him.

Ferb then became gripped with panic again – but a different kind of panic, more like a great bittersweet longing for something not to happen. He remembered that he was supposed to meet Vanessa tomorrow at the Park, and he remembered the kiss they shared. And he felt an even more desperate yearning not to lose his memory.

"Perry, I need to tell you something, that hopefully will change your mind," started Ferb carefully. "I—"

Just then, as if on cue, Ferb heard the front door slam open; he heard Phineas's loud footsteps barging up the stairs; he heard his cheerful voice yell, "Hey Ferb, you will not believe what just happened, c'mon man, we gotta build another Sun-Beater 3000, 'cause get what, I'm taking Isabella to Paris tomorrow—"

Then Phineas opened the door to their room and saw Perry pointing the device at Ferb and froze.

**Isabella's worst fears are going to come true: everyone's memories will be erased, including hers and Phineas's! ...or will they?**


	20. Perry, don't do it!

**Hope you guys enjoy!**

It took Phineas exactly two seconds to register what was going on. Ferb knew because he unconsciously counted in his head.

Then a look of rage passed over Phineas's face, and he leaped at Perry, grabbing him and dragging him to the ground. Ferb broke out of his shock and scrambled over the side of his bed. He dragged Phineas, who had had a chokehold on Perry, a small distance away. He could feel Phineas's shoulders heaving as he breathed heavily, his eyes narrowed into a deathly squint aimed at Perry.

"You trick me into believing you were my pet, and now you are out to kill my family?!" shouted Phineas.

"It's not a gun," soothed Ferb. He pinned Phineas's arms behind him, trying to subdue him. He took a moment to glance at Perry. He was no longer pointing the device at Ferb. Instead, he had a clear look of pain and remorse on his face as he watched Phineas struggle, as though he were a real human.

"What do you mean, it's not a gun?! I come in here, just about to tell you these great news, and boom, there's our _stupid_ platypus—" Perry flinched when Phineas spat those words—"holding that – that _thing_ to your face! Of course it's a gun! And you're probably not even a real good agent! You're a double agent for that Doofenshmirtz guy, and you're out to exact his revenge, huh? You're out to get us! Huh?!" yelled Phineas, almost screaming.

"Phineas. Phineas," shouted Ferb, shaking him. "PHINEAS!"

After a couple moments, Phineas went slack.

"It's not a gun," repeated Ferb. "It's only a device that will remove our memories."

"Why on earth would he want to do that? Because he wants us to forget how he's _betrayed_ us and much we _hate him?!"_ retorted Phineas.

Perry, meanwhile, had dropped to all fours, put away his fedora, and crawled to Phineas with the pamphlet in his mouth.

"No. It is for our own safety," said Ferb softly. He took the pamphlet from Perry gratefully and handed it to Phineas. "Read this."

"I'm not reading anything until we get to the bottom of—"

"Oh for Pete's sake, read the bloody brochure!" yelled Ferb, finally getting exasperated. Phineas stared at Ferb in wonder, and after a few moments, mechanically took the brochure and started to read it. Ferb flopped onto his bed and waited for Phineas to finish reading. Perry followed, and Ferb started to stroke Perry. Perry chattered.

After a minute or so, Phineas looked up, a look of sheepish regret and wonder on his face. "You would have to leave us if we knew about your true identity?" he asked Perry.

Perry nodded.

Phineas leaned back, startled. "Did… did he just nod?" he mumbled.

"Yes, yes he did," replied Ferb, continuing to stroke Perry, who nodded again.

"Wow. That's sorta cool," breathed Phineas in awe. Perry chattered.

After a moment of uncomfortable silence, Phineas spoke. "Perry, I'm sorry I got so angry at you before," he said, his voice cracking slightly with emotion. "I just thought that… well, you know, that we loved you so much as our pet and our friend, and that you never actually returned that love. And it hurt a lot."

Perry leaped down from the bed and curled up against Phineas. Phineas grinned and scratched him on the head, understanding the gesture of forgiveness Perry was showing. After a moment, Perry leaped up again and grabbed a pen from Ferb's desk. "What the…" said Phineas in wonder as Perry grabbed the brochure. Ferb stared as Perry started to write a message.

_Of course I love you guys. You're my family, and I would never do anything to hurt you,_ he wrote. He handed them the note proudly and stood back a little ways.

"You can write," said Phineas, dumbfounded.

Perry nodded.

"And you can understand English perfectly… is there anything you can't do?"

Perry shook his head, and the three Flynn-Fletcher family members laughed.

"So if you shoot us with that thing," said Phineas after they stopped laughing, "we're going to lose our memories of today, right?" Perry nodded in agreement.

"And that includes _everything _that happened?" asked Phineas, a note of fear in his voice. "And you're going to erase the memories of _everyone _involved in the encounter with Doofenshmirtz today?" Perry nodded again.

"Is there any way out of this, that you can stay with us without having to lose our memories?" Perry shook his head sadly.

As much as he wanted to let Phineas and Ferb in on his secret agent life, Perry knew that it would be suicide with his job. He would be that much more vulnerable, and he was only a platypus to begin with. Even more concerning would be the boys' safety. The last thing Perry wanted to do is do something that got the boys hurt. He had already seen witnessed one time when his owners and his nemesis mixed, and he did not want to ever have to go through that again.

With difficulty, Perry clenched his eyes shut and leveled the gun at Phineas.

"Perry, we can work this out," pleaded Phineas, panicking. Perry did his best to block him out, but he still visibly winced as he ever so slightly pulled the trigger. A hum filled the air, and the barrel started to glow bright blue.

"Perry, please!" protested Phineas, the panic in his chest feeling like a straightjacket, threatening to cut off his air supply. Ferb looked on in disbelief, unable to move as the barrel of the device glowed brighter and brighter.

_Just one more second, and then everything will be back to normal, _thought Perry sadly, ignoring Phineas's shouts of protest. He secretly wanted to let Phineas and Ferb in on his second life, but he knew it would put them and him in danger, and he wasn't willing to do that to them, or any of their friends or family.

Then, through the din, he heard a different voice – smaller in volume, much higher and a lot happier than Phineas's. Surprised, he took his finger off the trigger and opened his eyes.

He realized that the voice was coming from Phineas's pocket. Perry gestured to Phineas, to check the voice. Phineas's sigh of relief was audible as he pulled out his phone. It was playing a voice message that Isabella had just left to Phineas after he missed her call, because his phone was on vibrate.

"Hey Phineas, it's Isabella. I know you're probably eating dinner which is why you didn't pick up, but I just wanted to say that I'm _pretty sure_ that I figured out your surprise for tomorrow, hehe. And I partially just wanted an excuse to talk to you a little more. Well, anyway… call me as soon as you get this and you have time to chat for a bit. See you!" The phone clicked, indicating that the message was done.

Phineas and Perry exchanged a glance, and Perry immediately understood what was going on. From the start, Perry had known about the potential relationship between his owner and his best friend, but now he knew it to be finally true. He wondered when they had had time to get together; he knew that even yesterday, Isabella was still trying in vain to get Phineas to notice her.

"We got together this afternoon," answered Phineas, "when I took Isabella for a ride on the flying carpet, and then I kissed her and broke her out of her mind-control spell, and then… yeah. It was a heck of an afternoon, but it was the best one of my life," pleaded Phineas, silently begging Perry.

Perry looked at Ferb, who had pulled out a picture. He briefly showed it to Perry, and Perry made out two figures: Ferb and Doof's daughter, Vanessa. He immediately got the message about them as well.

"Look, Perry. I really appreciate how much you care for us… but if the reason you're taking away our memories is for our own protection… well, we don't need that protection. We'd gladly lead a life that's a little more dangerous, yet with all the great stuff going on, than go back to before, when it was safe but… less great," said Phineas, putting a lot of emotion into his words. "Look how long it's taken me to finally be with Isabella. I don't want to go through… I don't want to have to make her go through that again."

Perry glanced at Ferb again, who nodded in agreement. His eyes said, _we can take a little danger in our lives, and I think we speak for everyone involved in today's event. Well, maybe except Candace, but I'm sure she'd still be okay with it._

Perry had to smile at Ferb's uncanny way of communicating with only his eyes.

"Plus," added Phineas, brightening slightly at Perry's smile, "It'd be great to be a part of your team, you know, trick you up with some new gadgets or transportation devices or whatever."

Perry threw his hands up in the air in defeat. Once Phineas had said that… well, the temptation to be a team with the boys, instead of hiding the secret from them all the time, was too much.

Perry chattered, and took the brochure and pen from Phineas and wrote a quick note.

_My boss, Major Monogram, can't know about this. Can you relay the info to everyone, and be sure to keep it a secret between us?_

"Yes, yes we can! Oh, thank you, thank you, thank you, Perry," said Phineas happily, pulling Perry in for a hug. Ferb smiled and leaned over and scratched Perry on the head. Perry chattered contentedly.

"Boys! Dinner's ready!" their mom called.

"Let's go to dinner, _partner,"_ Phineas winked at Perry as he got up and stretched as though nothing had happened. Perry chattered back cheerfully and the trio bustled down the stairs, united once more.

**Finally, a chapter without a cliffhanger.**

**There will be a small epilogue, I think, but this is the end (the real one haha) of my first fanfic. Hope you guys liked reading it, and any reviews, whether they be compliments or criticisms, are always welcome.**


	21. Epilogue

_Epilogue_

"Phineas, are you sure this is a good idea?" asked Isabella a little nervously.

"I planted in a new coordinating tracking device, wind buffer shield, and preprogrammed the carpet with an autopilot system. I wanted to make it up to you; there's no way it's gonna mess up like last time," assured Phineas, leaping onto the couch. "Plus, the view of Danville from a couple hundred feet up while the sun is setting is really pretty."

"Yeah, it is," said Isabella, sitting next to him on the couch.

"But not as pretty as you are," said Phineas with a wink. Blushing, Isabella laughed and shoved him playfully.

"You're too much," she said, her face burning with pleasure. She still hadn't gotten used to the transition between the oblivious Phineas and the Phineas who actually noticed her, liked her, treated her like the world's best boyfriend. He turned and smiled at her, and they laughed, not because anything particularly funny had been said or done, but just because they felt so good to be together.

It had been a week since the incident with Doofenshmirtz happened. Since then, Phineas hadn't changed a bit; he was still building fun inventions and cooking up ideas to make the summer the best it could possibly be. But after he was done with the Big Idea for the day, he would always do a little something special for Isabella too, to make up for all the times he had ignored her hints throughout the summer.

Some days, the surprises were bigger than others. Sure enough, he had kept his promise and built another Sun-Beater 3000, and the two had gone to Paris. They had stuffed themselves on crepes and crème brulees, tried on berets, walked (holding hands, of course) down the Champs Elysees, and went up the Eiffel Tower at night and looked down at Paris, a collage of multicolored lights. Even though he had built some amazing things that summer, Phineas knew he had never had as much fun as he did when he went to Paris with Isabella. He knew Isabella had had the time of her life as well, judging from the way she hadn't stopped smiling for one moment that day.

Some days, the surprises were smaller. One day, Phineas thought he had said something wrong when he asked Isabella out to see a movie with him, judging from her expression of shock. But after a couple seconds, Isabella recovered, and assured him that he had done nothing wrong, and that she was only shocked because she had never expected him to ask her out to a movie. Phineas remembered avoiding Ferb that day, in case another weird green ray might hit them and turn them into some abnormal amalgamation of Phineas and Ferb, thus messing up his plans for the day.

"Well, look who's here," Ferb said drily from the hallway, peeking in at the pair. He had recovered quickly from the multitude of injuries at Doofenshmirtz's, as did everyone else, and was walking with only a slight limp now.

"Hey Ferb, we're just taking one last spin on the flying carpet, you know, because one run-in with a crazed scientist isn't enough for me," waved Phineas. Isabella giggled.

"What – waterball fight not enough excitement for you?" joked Ferb. Earlier that day, they had used specific gravity and anti-gravity machines to create waterballs and have a giant, citywide waterball fight, like a snowball fight in the summer.

"Nope," assured Phineas, laughing.

"C'mon – Pinhead Pierre airs in three minutes!" complained Ferb flippantly.

"If you come, you can watch the show. Do you want to come with us?" offered Phineas. Isabella glared at him, and then turned to Ferb, who backed up at the force of the glare.

Ferb hastily made the universal "I'm okay" gesture.

"That's good, because even if you wanted to, I would've said no," said Phineas, putting an arm around Isabella and laughing heartily. Isabella gently hit him on the arm, pretending to be mad at him tricking her. "Phineas!" she exclaimed, laughing. Ferb joined in. Normally, he would've been hurt, but as it turned out, he was supposed to meet with Vanessa in ten minutes anyway, so he had no qualms about not going.

Ferb saluted them as Phineas pressed a button on a remote and the entire house opened up. With a whirring noise, the carpet shot up and away into the multicolored sky.

"Phineas, you are so busted—" Candace yelled as she barged down the stairs and into the hallway, but stopped short when she saw the bare living room. "Where did all the stuff in here go? And where's Phineas? Aren't you usually with him…"

Ferb gave a look that told her everything. "Ah, I see… Well, if it's for love… Then I can't bust them," said Candace reluctanatly. She trudged back up the stairs, downcast. Ferb heard her phone go off, and her voice squeal "Oh hi, Jeremy!" when she picked up. He grinned at his sister's ability to get distracted so easily and walked outside to wait for Vanessa.

* * *

"What's the real reason you wanted me to come up here?" asked Isabella as they soared over the peaceful city of Danville.

"I needed to prove to myself that I could work this thing," confessed Phineas sheepishly. "That I could fly this carpet on my own. Plus, I wanted to have some alone time with you. Like, real alone time. Without Ferb or Candace or even just any people in general."

A week ago, Isabella would've been the happiest girl on the planet if she had heard those words come out of Phineas's mouth to her. But now, she noticed how the setting sun accentuated the slight bags under Phineas's eyes, how he drooped a little with fatigue, and her happy feelings mixed with guilt. She sighed.

"You okay?" Phineas turned to her, concerned.

"Never been better," said Isabella truthfully. "It's just that… a week ago, I wouldn't have even dreamed of this happening. Okay, maybe I might've dreamed about it," said Isabella with a laugh when Phineas eyed her suspiciously. "But I never would've expected it to happen, all of… this," she said, gesturing to Phineas. He laughed. "Thanks, I guess," he snorted.

"And it's a million times better than I ever imagined it to be," said Isabella, not looking at Phineas. "And it's just weird to think that it all happened so fast, right?"

Phineas eyed her some more. "That's not what's really bugging you, right," he said. It wasn't a question.

Isabella sighed again. "No," she confessed, all her guilty feelings tumbling out. "I just feel… kinda bad, because you're doing all these wonderful, sweet things, but they're just wearing you out, and I feel like I'm just a physical hindrance to your carefree, summer lifestyle, and I feel really guilty about it, and plus I never do anything for you, and I—"

She stopped when Phineas held her steady by the shoulders. "Isabella Garcia-Shapiro," he said in a reverent tone, "You have done more for me than anyone else ever has. Well, except for maybe Mom, because, well you know, she gave birth to me, and all that," he added awkwardly. Isabella giggled. "But you – you're the first person who taught me to love, and I'll always be in your debt for that. And about your other point, about me being tired – I honestly feel better and more energized when I do stuff for you, because it's for you, and I know you'll always really appreciate it. You, uh… you do, right?" he asked nervously.

Isabella's heart melted at his words. "More than you'll ever know," she sighed, leaning on his shoulder.

He nodded, as if in agreement, and put his arm around her. He squeezed her gently. "But every day, I know a little more," he replied contentedly.

"Yes, yes you do," Isabella whispered. The carpet soared off into the sunset, marking the close of yet another day of summer seized by Phineas and his friends.

_The End_

**Whew! That was a pretty wild ride. The epilogue was slightly longer than I expected, mainly because I wanted to tie up all loose ends, provide a real sense of closure, etc. Thanks to all you guys who stuck with me, motivated me to keep writing, and gave feedback on my story. Hope you guys enjoyed it, and I wish you all have a very happy holidays!**


	22. a note from me to you

**A/N: hey guys, it's me, storyman123123. hope you guys liked my first fanfic, and i appreciate all your support and reviews.**

**just wanted to give a shout out to my friend Samantha (name changed to protect the awesome). she was the one who first suggested the idea of the boys and perry meeting doof crossing paths again, but in the first dimension this time. she also supported me during many a night when i was frustrated with writer's block and such, and to top it off, did a little editing. i owe you one. :)**

**also, a handful of you guys expressed interest to me in a sequel. i think i'm gonna take a break now from writing on fanfiction, just because it takes a lot of time and effort, and with school and whatnot always present, i don't think i'll have time to create a story of the caliber that's worthy enough for you guys to read, because you guys are awesome and deserve only the best.**

**however, my creative juices continue to flow (translation: i do have ideas). i was planning to maybe continue with some more stories in this specific universe of PnF, where the boys are in on perry's secret, and phinbella and ferbnessa are established. i have a couple ideas: having major monogram find out about their secret and try to track down the boys (credit to piano-man for the idea); the 2nd dimension doof coming back; isabella and phineas getting into a fight; perry going back to hawaii and chilling with paul; or any combination of said plot outlines and others. just wanted some input from you guys, see what you think about those starts.**

**well, that's about it. thanks again for reading, and i hope to hear from you guys soon! you guys rock! happy holidays!**

**-storyman123123**


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